TKS Part 2: Child of the Dark Moon
by Spunky0ne
Summary: As King Aizen and his consort, Byakuya prepare for the birth of the royal heir, an old enemy plots the end of both of them. When Byakuya disappears, Aizen leaves the safety of the spirit dimension to find him and risks walking into a trap...mpreg.
1. The Blood Ritual

**Child of the Dark Moon**

**By Spunky0ne**

**Sequel to The King's Sacrifice**

**Chapter 1: The Blood Ritual**

"You are still awake," Byakuya said softly, stepping in through the open balcony doors and studying King Aizen's glinting eyes in the darkness of their bedroom, "I tried to enter quietly, so I wouldn't wake you."

Aizen's lips curved into a devilish smile.

"You think I wouldn't sense you from miles away? That I wouldn't scent that touch of sakura on the breezes? Byakuya, my love, you insult me."

"My apologies," the noble said, with perfect seriousness, "His majesty will feel free to punish me as he sees fit, then."

Aizen sat up, and Byakuya's eyes strayed to the partially uncovered bare body, the wicked eyes and deadly smile that made his mouth go dry and sent a soft shiver through him, the teasing curves of face, breast and abdomen that threatened to undo his resolve, then and there. He stood, silently facing the bed and waiting. Aizen looked back through predatory eyes for a moment, then disappeared and appeared in front of his noble spouse. Byakuya did not move, but only looked into Aizen's piqued expression and waited.

"So..." Aizen said running his fingers down a porcelain cheek and meeting Byakuya's smoky eyes, "You admit you deserve punishment."

"For carelessly waking my lord," Byakuya agreed.

"For thinking for a moment, that you could slip into my presence unnoticed," Aizen corrected him, "And..."

He leaned close and breathed the next words on the skin of the noble's throat, making Byakuya quiver and inhale sharply.

"For taking a mission that I had already told you was unsuitable for you right now," he finished, sliding a hand beneath his clothes and letting his hand run over the pronounced bump on Byakuya's swollen belly, "One would think that you would employ more caution in these later days of your gestation."

"It was not a combat mission," Byakuya said, catching his breath as Aizen's hand left his belly and crawled downward, "I was only there to ensure that the border was properly defended. You might remember that ensuring your safety is my primary responsibility."

He paused as the king's mouth attacked his, and the monarch's hand found his awakening length and teased it shamelessly. Byakuya's eyes fluttered and he sighed into his husband's devouring mouth, his legs weakening as their kissing deepened.

"You...forgive me, then?" he whispered, keeping his eyes closed as Aizen's fingers left his nether region and dipped into the monarch's mouth, where their tongues did silent battle to share the exotic taste of the noble's essence.

"Did you plead for my forgiveness?" Aizen asked, glaring at him softly, "I don't remember seeing or hearing any penitence on your part."

Byakuya's lips escaped his spouse's and he backed away a step. Aizen stared raptly as the noble's hands released the tie at his waist and his clothing fell away, revealing the lovely, sculpted body beneath.

"Are you trying to distract me?" Aizen asked, remaining that one step away and ravishing Byakuya's exposed flesh with his eyes, "It won't work. You will have to plead for forgiveness and accept your punishment, my love. For, as you are so fond of reminding me...how are we to expect others to follow our rules if we do not honor them, ourselves?"

Byakuya smirked.

"I do remind you of that constantly," he agreed, "Not that you pay it any mind, except when it works to your advantage."

Aizen gave him a disarming smile and shrugged nonchalantly.

"I have never made any secret of who I am," he said, stepping forward, "You have known that since even before that day you came into my cell and sacrificed that lovely body of yours to free me from the hougyoku and set me on the throne."

Byakuya stepped back as Aizen stepped forward again, and they came to a stop at the edge of the bed. The king's hands captured the noble's comely face and he froze Byakuya in place, staring up into his power-laden eyes.

"You sacrificed yourself sexually," he said, kissing the solemn lips again, "Then you bound yourself to me and gave everything to your task. You were a good and loyal servant of the king, even sacrificing your life for me in the end. But...I assure you that none of those sacrifices you made are enough temptation to dissuade me. You deserve to be punished, and you will be."

He sank into the noble's mouth and pressed his hot flesh against Byakuya's cooler body. The noble trembled softly under his hands and moaned lightly into his mouth, setting off a strong reaction in his royal counterpart.

"And...in case you are hoping that my love for you will cause me to go easier on you, you may abandon those hopes. As much as I love you, this is not the first time you have gone against my wishes. You are a terribly stubborn and willful person...constantly challenging me. I simply cannot allow this to continue without taking appropriate action."

Byakuya gazed steadily into his eyes, his own unrepentant.

"I see you show no remorse."

"I will not apologize," Byakuya said calmly, "Where his majesty's safety is concerned, I will take no chances. And if that vexes you, then feel free to punish me. But just as you will not change who you are, neither will I."

Aizen gave him a sly smile.

"As expected...a shockingly defiant answer. So...you choose to stand your ground, but," he said, raising his reaitsu, "so do I."

Aizen let his hands slide down the noble's shapely torso, teasing his nipples and catching lightly in his navel as he moved lower. Golden light glowed softly on one extended fingertip that set in place a restraint to keep him from achieving climax, tightening until the noble flinched and made a sound of discomfort. Aizen's hands returned to his face.

"Are you prepared to receive your punishment?" he asked, licking Byakuya's soft lips and dipping into his mouth again.

"Hai, your majesty," the noble answered solemnly, beginning to lower himself onto his knees in front of Aizen.

"Did I tell you to kneel?" the king asked, his glare darkening dangerously.

"No, my lord," Byakuya answered.

"So...again, you display far too much willfulness," Aizen said, sternly, lowering him onto his back on the bed, then straightening.

Byakuya rested quietly on his back, looking up into Aizen's eyes.

"Pleasure yourself," the king hissed softly.

A small smile found its way onto Byakuya's face.

"I thought you wished to punish me," he said, blinking slowly.

"Oh," said Aizen, crossing his arms, "I do. Go ahead. Do it. Pleasure yourself."

Byakuya thought for a moment, then closed his eyes. A moment later, the king's smile widened as a swirl of sakura petals drifted down out of the air, sweeping across Byakuya's naked skin and coaxing a pleased sigh from his lips. Then, long, slender limbs snaked out of thin air and slid along his flesh, meandering provocatively along the gentle curves of his body, tormenting the noble's white throat, the curves of his breasts and abdomen, lingering shamelessly on his nipples. Aizen watched as they slid across the sensitive wrists and inner thighs, then moved forward, taking control of the wandering tendrils and wrapping them around his wrists, binding them together in front of him, then curling around his body and bringing him up onto his knees on the bed. Aizen climbed onto the bed in front of him and knelt, then reached down and teased himself as well. Byakuya remained on his knees, with his bound hands rested over his aroused genitals, teasing them lightly as he watched his lover closely. Aizen's hand reached out and his dampened fingers touched the noble's lips. Byakuya sucked the wet digits into his mouth and fed on them hungrily. The king watched for a several moments, then sank his fingers into the noble's hair and applied pressure.

"You have a lovely, but defiant mouth," he said, reprovingly, "Now, instead of using it to defy me, you will use it to please me. Put your mouth on me, Byakuya."

He leaned back slightly, so that he could better see as Byakuya's head lowered more, and the noble's pristine lips as they proceeded to provide he ordered pleasure. Aizen's eyes softened and hazed over with desire as Byakuya stroked his sensitive places with a wonderfully lusty tongue, then teased him relentlessly. The monarch let out a soft moan and moved his hips, thrusting carefully as Byakuya continued his amorous efforts. The king's eyes feasted on the noble's lovely, pale features, the porcelain skin, long, fluttering eyelashes, pretty, half-closed eyes and the pretty, perfect mouth. Byakuya's bound hands rose and his fingers explored the monarch's nether areas as more glowing, pink sakura ropes formed and wrapped themselves around Aizen's bare body. And between Byakuya's hot, willing mouth, the invading hands and slithering sakura ropes, the king felt his considerable control slipping.

_But then...he is always a source of intense pleasure._

_Pleasure and frustration..._

_Under just enough control to excel._

_Just fiery enough to tempt me._

_Just skillful enough to get away with it._

_Byakuya..._

He pulled away and forced the noble down, lashing his wrists to the bedpost and forcing the slender thighs apart from behind him. He entered more roughly than he intended, and felt Byakuya wince and gasp. Instead of making him more cautious, the sound and recoil only riled him more. He thrust deep into his restrained lover's core, digging his fingers into the noble's white flesh, listening to Byakuya's rising moans and losing all restraint. He thrust hard and fast, angling himself so that he struck the pleasure center inside his writhing consort, making the noble groan and thrash restlessly, his hands trying to pull free of the bedpost, desperation overtaking his usually calm features as the glowing ring around him denied him completion.

The beauty and honesty of that emotion carried Aizen over the sweet edges of pleasure and sent him into long, hot pulses of completion. Byakuya gave a furious cry as his lover's heat filled him, but he, himself, was restrained...confined just inches from bliss. His sweating body shook uncontrollably and Aizen's release trickled out, leaking onto his thighs. The king withdrew from him, dragging a hard groan from Byakuya's tormented form. He knelt next to the noble and ran a loving hand down his spine.

"You want me to finish you?" Aizen asked, smiling, "You want me to make you see stars?"

He laid down on the noble's back, letting his limp, sated member tease his lovely mate. Byakuya rested beneath him, too overcome with unfed lust to answer.

"When I tell you that I want you to delegate some duties...to protect you from the consequences of your own horrid recklessness, I expect you will obey me. Do you understand?"

Byakuya let out a hard, hissing breath and steeled himself.

"No."

"What did you say to me?"

"I said, no," the noble repeated, "I will never...ever do any less than it takes to protect my lord. Even if the punishment never ends. Even if it makes you want to kill me with your bare hands..."

Aizen gave a soft chuckle and kissed one pretty, flushed cheek.

"Unrepentant to the end, ne Byakuya?"

"Always, Sousuke," the noble answered softly.

"You are fortunate that you are the one person in whom I find some defiance irresistible," Aizen said, using his fingers to tease him until his back arched beautifully and he struggled and clenched the bedding to keep himself from crying out.

Aizen flipped him easily onto his back and pushed his thighs apart, then sweetly tormented him to the ends of his endurance. He waited until he felt the noble's will begin to crumble, then loosed the ring around him, enjoying his hard, aching cries of relief as Byakuya shuddered in completion. He nudged his way into the noble's still bound arms and fell on his mouth for a scathing bout of finishing kisses, then released him completely and fell down beside him, panting and sweating and deliriously happy. Byakuya smiled and curled into his arms, coaxing Aizen's hand down to rest on the bump on his abdomen. They sank down into blissful sleep together as the breeze came in gently through the open balcony doors and the moonlight fell across their bed.

For a time, all was still within their room, then...Byakuya stirred in his sleeping lover's arms, his mind gripped in a horrifying, unrelenting dream.

XXXXXXXXXX

_Thin, slender hands extended over a black stone altar, and a low, almost growling female voice rose up in the darkened room._

_"Drink the blood and power of your noble bearer," the woman said, emptying a vial of blood, then a vial of captured reiatsu over a dark seed that had been placed on the altar, "Let it drench you inside and bring you to life. Prepare yourself for the incubation...for the rest inside him, then explosion into life. His last breath shall be your first. And you will then take back everything...everything they took from us...everything..."_

_Light and smoke rose around the black seed. It began to vibrate softly as the blood and reiatsu was sucked in from the surface and swirled around inside. And slowly, the black color of the seed was made over in red. And inside, a heart began to beat._

_"Shh," the hollow witch whispered, "Not too loud. We don't want him to hear it beating until it is too late."_

_The witch turned and her mouth twisted into a cruel smile._

_"Come, Byakuya. Come and give him life!"_

_A skeletal hand took hold of his throat and dragged him towards the altar. His fingers clawed the ground and his mouth opened in hard, terrified screams as he saw her pick up the seed, and she dragged his head back. A shock of power froze him in place as she forced the foul seed into his mouth. He tried to spit it out, but it dissolved on his tongue and sank into his impregnated body, invading the reiatsu chamber and sending pulses of dark power all through him. He reared back and screamed again as the witch cackled, watching triumphantly as a hollow mask formed on his face. His screams echoed gratingly, and his slender hands clawed at the mask, trying to tear it away._

Byakuya sat up suddenly, sweating heavily, panting harshly and clutching his face with one hand as Aizen sat up next to him and wrapped comforting arms around the noble.

"Another nightmare," the king said unhappily, "I know that the healers have said this is normal, but it chills me how they affect you."

Byakuya buried his face in the monarch's strong shoulder and clung to him tightly, not yet able to respond.

"Do you remember anything this time?" Aizen asked.

Byakuya lifted his head off of his spouse's shoulder for a moment, thinking carefully before solemnly shaking his head, then letting it fall back to where it had rested before. Aizen's fingers traveled down the lengths of his hair and his calm voice soothed Byakuya back into sleep.

"You are under too much stress," the king said, lowering him onto his pillow, "You worry too greatly about my safety, I think. It borders upon recklessness. You must listen to me and remain here, within the safety of the palace, from now on. We already lost one child, Byakuya. I do not want our hearts burdened with such a loss again."

He studied the noble's troubled sleeping face and bent to kiss him. Then, he curled himself around his mate protectively, holding him close and breathing in his lovely scent as he drifted off to sleep again.


	2. Willfulness

**Chapter 2: Willfulness**

Byakuya felt the touch of Aizen's amorous eyes on his body, where he laid, naked and sprawled across the bed, and let a smile tease its way onto his lips where the monarch could not see. He kept his breathing soft and even, waiting. A moment later, a strong hand slid down his spine and over his round, white bottom. He made a soft, accepting sound and opened one gray eye, connecting with the king's for a moment, then closed it again as the fingers of Aizen's hand invaded his already plundered entrance. His breathing deepened and his member blossomed again. He felt a warning bite the back of a shoulder and turned his head to meet his lord's hot, possessive mouth and commanding tongue, as he arched his back and moved with his lover's efforts.

He sucked the other man's tongue into his mouth, enjoying the presence of their mingled essences on Aizen's lips and tongue. The king's rich, masculine scent blended with his own, lighter one, seeping deep down into his chest and leaving him light-headed and pliable as Aizen removed his marauding fingers for a moment and dragged the slowly waking noble onto his lap.

Byakuya's slim, white thighs opened wide and he settled onto the other man, resting against Aizen and letting his attention return to their kissing. They feasted insatiably on each others' open mouths, savoring each other, as Aizen's hips moved slowly, rubbing their inflamed arousals together and his fingers continued their efforts. It was hardly, Byakuya thought, necessary to go to such lengths after having engaged in several heated joinings during the night, but Aizen relished taking his time and pushing his normally stoic noble partner into passionate, erotic displays. And despite the way it left him flustered and blushing afterwards, Byakuya couldn't hold back the lusty sounds and wanton behaviors that Aizen lured out of him. He let his head fall back as the king's mouth left his and attacked the sensitive skin of his throat. A hungry moan escaped his trembling lips. He felt a throbbing ache in his loins and sank his long, graceful fingers into Aizen's thick, brown mane, encouraging him to continue the delicious assault on his noble lover's willing flesh. Byakuya was laid down on his back again, and Aizen smiled down at him for a moment.

"Do you think that you can fend off climax?" he asked, stroking the noble's damp cock, "Or do you need me to help with that?"

Byakuya's smoky gray eyes looked back at the monarch, challengingly.

"I do not need anyone's help maintaining control of myself," he hissed back.

Aizen's eyes narrowed.

"Are you sure?" he asked, licking a pretty, pink nipple and earning a moaning sigh and a soft fluttering of the noble's half-closed eyelids.

Byakuya gave him a derisive look and let his head fall back. The monarch gazed down at the relaxed, opened body that laid beneath him, his brown eyes raking the lovely curves of sculpted chin and throat, perfect breast, pregnant abdomen, round buttock and slender thigh.

"Very well, then," Aizen said, continuing the motion of his fingers and returning to the noble's mouth for a seething bout of kisses, "But...do remember to mind your petals. You nearly destroyed our room the last time we did this."

Byakuya smirked.

"But, if you will also remember, I resisted you for the duration," he said, watching through hazy eyes as Aizen's mouth began a slow crawl down his body.

"Only because your raging petals and out of control reiatsu made part of the room collapse, ne?"

"I still resisted you."

"I doubt you will do so this time."

He didn't wait for an answer, but fell on the beautiful, pale flesh, ravishing every inch he could reach with fingers, lips and hot, wet tongue. He blazed a trail down the long, graceful throat, biting down and sucking languidly until Byakuya's hips rose off the bed and he hissed a soft curse in his royal lover's ear.

"Mmmmm," moaned Aizen, moving on to treasure the hard collarbone, then sliding down to his breasts and stimulating one erect nipple with his fingers, while tormenting the other with his lips and a hardened tongue.

Byakuya shifted restlessly beneath him as Aizen continued the heavy stimulation, kissing his way down from breast to navel, then teasing wantonly until it nearly made the stubborn noble come undone. Byakuya sucked in a shivering breath and closed his eyes, control barely in his grasp as Aizen paused, smiling, and kissed the baby bump on his abdomen before moving down below it and following the trail of fine, raven black hairs that led to Byakuya's flushed nether region. He let his breath touch lightly, enjoying the hard shiver that went through the noble's body in response. Then he continued, nuzzling and tormenting until it left Byakuya panting harshly and a fine layer of sweat formed on his pale skin. The king bent to explore the heady blend of his flavor and Byakuya's, making his consort's body shake in anticipation. Byakuya groaned and stiffened as Aizen's mouth finally offered a measure of the comfort he so desired.

Their eyes locked in a fierce battle of wills, as the king's lips and tongue attacked with a dizzying assault of heavy strokes, long, indulgent licks, and unbearably intense suction. There was no need for words left between the two as their reiatsu swelled and pulsated, making the air glow nearly white around them and heavy tremors pass through the room. The monarch's power wrapped around Byakuya's already impassioned form, sliding over his bared flesh, skillfully teasing all of his most sensitive places, and slowly bringing him close to the ends of reason.

The noble's eyes remained cool and focused, but white light lit his body from end to end. He struggled to keep himself silent, resisting as he watched Aizen's head rise and fall, and the man's fingers again found that wonderful place inside him that threatened to shake apart his carefully employed control. Aizen smiled as he sensed that his lovely mate had reached the ends of his tolerance.

"I believe, I win," the king breathed hotly into Byakuya's ear, earning a blazing retort, then a long sigh of surrender.

He swiftly positioned himself and plunged into that sweetly primed body, laughing softly at the harsh, guttural sound that escaped Byakuya as he was deeply penetrated. He thrust hard and fast now, beautifully erotic shivers passing through him as he looked down at the enchanting man beneath him and brought him over the edges of that careful control, sending him, panting...trembling...moaning warningly, and finally erupting into release with a ringing, mindless cry. It was, he decided, one of the most beautiful sounds he had ever heard, which was why he pursued it so often. And his noble spouse was breathtaking, laid bare and spread out on their bed...his flesh misted with sweat, his eyes threatening mayhem, and petals fluttering and dancing in the air around them.

"Byakuya..." he hissed, closing his eyes and reclaiming the noble's biting mouth as his body seized and blinding heat undid the reeling noble again.

"S-sousuke!" he moaned, welcoming his royal husband's tongue back into his mouth and holding the other man almost painfully tightly as they exchanged a final scathing flurry of finishing kisses.

They fell quiet, their sweaty, spent bodies still joined as they fell asleep again.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Sousuke?" Byakuya mumbled, his eyes blinking open.

He was unsurprised at finding himself alone, once he glanced at the clock and realized how far into the morning it was. He shook his head, knowing that the group going out to examine and tend the defenses along the dimension wall would already have departed.

_You have an interesting way of manipulating me into doing as you wish, Sousuke._

But looking down at his recently plundered body, he couldn't be angry. There might be manipulation and challenge between them, but there was also deep and profound love. He frowned and squinted down at himself, watching as the light coming in through the open balcony doors caught and reflected on something that hung around his neck. His lips curved into an unbidden smile as he encountered what he sensed was a real sakura blossom that had been dipped in pure gold, then placed on a golden chain.

"Sousuke," he whispered in a pleased tone.

The gesture left him feeling touched, though he knew that part of it was that the monarch sought to undo any anger he might be tempted to feel about having his wings clipped and being forced to stay closer to home as the day of their child's birth approached.

The fingertips of one hand continued to touch the sakura pendant lightly, while his other hand strayed down to his abdomen. His skin was still somewhat sticky from their lovemaking, but that only made him feel more connected to his husband and to the child he carried.

_This is truly a dream that I never imagined could be._

He thought back to the day his grandfather had called him to the house in the Rukongai, and had said the words to him that had, on that day, made him feel like ending his own life.

_Aizen Sousuke is the son of the recently passed king. You must free him from Central 46 and the hougyoku. You must return him to the spirit dimension and set him on the throne, and when that is done, you must remain at his side, his royal consort, and devote the remainder of your life to serving him, as his spouse and soul bonded. These are the last commands of his royal majesty._

Byakuya breathed a soft sigh of gratitude and slipped out of bed. He was through the worst of the morning sickness, it seemed, but was often dizzy upon rising. His head, this time too, spun and made him sway unsteadily as he rose, but he paused for a moment by the bed before adjourning to the bathing room. His attendant appeared at the edge of the pool, a small wrap curled around his body to cover him, and he followed the consort out to the waterfall, watching silently as Byakuya let the water run down his slender, divine form. Then the youth stepped forward and began to bathe him, as Byakuya let his mind stray away and relaxed into his attendant's gentle touches.

"You look weary this morning," Torio commented, "Would you like the healer to come?"

"I am fine," Byakuya assured him, "I have no assigned duties at the moment, so there is no need to worry about that."

The youth gave him a cynical look.

"Then, you are finally going to listen to Aizen-sama and stay here, as opposed to running about and fighting anything that even thinks about approaching his majesty?"

"It is hard to fight my instincts, Torio," the noble admitted, "As his consort, I..."

"I know, Byakuya-sama," said the attendant, "but you have to think about your baby."

His hands caressed the bump on Byakuya's abdomen gently as he cleansed the area

"Aizen-sama is only thinking of protecting the two of you."

"I understand," Byakuya said softly, "And I do not intend to put my child at risk. I did not go out with the group this morning..."

Torio laughed softly, knowing exactly what had kept his handsome master from leaving with the group of royal guardsmen.

"Well," he said, "That is good news."

He stepped away from the noble and returned to the edge of the pool, waiting quietly while Byakuya rinsed his body and stepped out from under the waterfall. He walked to Torio and stood calmly as the attendant dried him off and wrapped a dressing robe around him, then followed him back into the bedroom and dressed him in a beautiful new kimono. Byakuya looked down at the lovely creation.

"Another new kimono?" he queried.

Torio nodded.

"Aizen-sama seems to dote upon you quite a lot lately. He is very much in love with you and excited about the baby," Torio suggested.

"Yes," agreed Byakuya, shaking his head "But he doesn't need to go to such lengths. Truly...a person only needs so many kimonos...so many..."

But he couldn't say anything against the lovely sakura blossom at his throat. It was too personal, too profound a statement of what was between them now. Torio chuckled again and stepped back, gazing at him for a moment, then nodding in approval.

"Arigato, Torio," Byakuya said, dismissing the youth.

Torio bowed and left the room.

Byakuya sighed softly and wondered what to do next. He was aware that Sousuke was having him watched to make sure he didn't leave the palace. But, he thought, a trip into the King's Garden would hardly seem suspect.

He flash stepped to the balcony, and onto the heavy, ornate railing, then dropped lightly down into the gardens and slowed to a walk. He took his time, breathing in the lovely scents of flowers, grass and growing things all around him, as he walked the garden trail to the healing pool, then stopped to look out over the wilder expanse of the area in front of him. He checked the time and gave a bored sigh, realizing how long it would be before his lover would return from meeting with the royal council. He wasn't accustomed to waiting about and having nothing to do. Everything about Byakuya rang with purpose and commitment to duty. One such as he wasn't supposed to have time to grow bored.

"Byakuya," said a deep, smiling voice, distracting him.

Byakuya caught his breath softly and turned.

"Renji!" he exclaimed, unable to contain an instant smile.

He shook his head and let out a soft, pleased breath, examining that taichou's haori that adorned the redhead.

"You look well."

"You look kinda pale and tired," answered Renji, "Must be that little bundle you're carrying around. You ever gonna have that kid, or are you just going to keep incubating him...or her...forever?"

"It shouldn't be much longer," Byakuya answered, admiring the array of newer tattoos on his former fukataichou's face, throat and partially exposed chest.

He blushed slightly and looked away as Renji caught him staring.

"My apologies for staring," Byakuya said, "but...you _have_ grown even stronger since you were last here, Renji. It seems that your new post has been good to you. I am glad. You waited a long time to take that step...too long. There is no more standing in my shadow anymore."

"Hey," said the redhead, "I couldn't have done it without you pushing me like you did. You helped me every step of the way. I won't ever forget that, Byakuya."

"Neither will I," the consort said, warmly.

"Well," said Aizen's voice from behind the two, making them turn, "Look who has come calling. You look well, Abarai taichou."

"Your majesty," Renji said, respectfully, but with a slight edge to his voice.

"My apologies for interrupting your visit," said Aizen, blinking slowly, "but as council ended early, it is time for us to have lunch. Would you like to join us, Abarai taichou?"

"Ah, I would," Renji said, glancing at Byakuya, "but I am with a group of others, come in to assist with guarding the dimension wall as its defenses are upgraded."

Aizen did not miss the way Byakuya's lips tightened and his eyes flared softly at the mention of the duties he, himself would be tending to if his spouse wasn't watching him directly.

"I see," he said quietly, "Then, perhaps you will return to the palace and have dinner with us tonight. Whom shall we expect?"

"Um, I came here with Grimmjow, Nel, Ichigo and Rukia.

"How lovely," said Aizen, smirking, "A regular 'family reunion,' ne Byakuya?"

"So it seems."

"Aizen-sama!" called a council messenger, flash stepping to them, then dropping to his knees to deliver his message, "Word just came about a breach in the dimension wall that happened sometime during the night. They have called a meeting to hear from teams scanning the area to see if something passed through."

"Very well," said Aizen.

He turned back to Byakuya and Renji.

"Excuse me, I will return when I have seen to this."

"Yeah," said Renji, "no problem. I'll need to get going anyway to help out with the investigation."

Aizen nodded, then looked at Byakuya.

"And I suppose that you will only slip by the guards and go out there as soon as I leave," he said, frowning, "So, why don't you accompany Abarai taichou? That way, at least you will be protected, if there should be trouble."

Byakuya gave him a pleased look and nodded briefly.

"But no fighting," the monarch said warningly, "If there is an attack, Abarai taichou will return with you to the palace, immediately. You are not to lift a petal unless you are directly attacked, ne Byakuya?"

Byakuya frowned, but grudgingly agreed, then flash stepped away at Renji's side. Aizen looked after them, shaking his head disapprovingly.

"You take too many chances, Byakuya. I do worry for you sometimes."

He turned and followed the messenger back into the palace. A pair of golden eyes watched from the bushes nearby.

"You should worry," hissed a malevolent feminine voice, "You are going to lose him, Aizen Sousuke. And then, you are going to die!"


	3. Kiss of Death

**Chapter 3: Kiss of Death**

**(Sorry to keep all of you lovely Aizen/Bya fans waiting! I'm on vacation this week, but still writing while we drive. Hope you enjoy this next chapter. Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing, and to unsigned reviewers MissKuchiki, ByakuyaFangirl, and Iloveaizenandbyakuya. You guys are so great! *hugs* More will be along soon!)**

Renji made a sound of surprise as Byakuya flash stepped past him. angling towards the spirit dimension border.

_Damn! Even so pregnant, he's still blindingly fast, formidable. But you really have to be a strong person to make someone like that bastard, Aizen love you. I hate what he put Byakuya through before. I don't think that I will ever forgive him. Byakuya is far too good a person to lie down with a dark one like Aizen._

_But then...the former king probably knew that one gone so wrong would need a divine hand to turn him back around._

_Byakuya, I wish it hadn't had to be you._

_But it makes some kind of sense that it was. The gods don't create someone like you without there being a desperate need. I get it, and I wish it didn't have to be. I accept it, but I miss the way things were. It was wonderful serving with you before. The good and the bad, the rises and falls, the wins and the losses. We were close by the time it ended._

_And I will always honor that bond between us. No matter what I feel about Aizen..._

_I will always be your friend._

Byakuya slowed as he reached the group of royal guardsmen at the wall.

"Kuchiki Hogosha taichou!" the men called out, bowing.

"I understand you have discovered signs of someone breaking into the spirit dimension through the dimension wall. What have you found so far in your investigation?"

"We have determined that someone entered here," one of the men said, indicating a place on the wall, "We have concluded from a deep reading that the dimension wall accepted this creature's passage because it possessed some sort of key."

The man paused for a moment.

"What is it?"

"Sir...the key left a trace of reiatsu here. We have studied it carefully and...well..."

"Go on."

"Sir...the reiatsu that was found...was yours!"

"Mine?" queried Byakuya, frowning, "But that is impossible."

"We weren't sure whether it was really on your permission that the person or thing entered, because it is possible for the King's Hogosha taichou to fashion a key using his reiatsu. But we had had no word from you that such a key had been created."

"I never created a temporary permission key. This one has somehow been falsified."

Byakuya sensed the tension in the royal guardsmen, the sense that if he was anyone but the King's Consort and the King's Hogosha taichou, they would be taking him in for questioning. But everyone among the royal guardsmen knew that Aizen held Byakuya as being beyond suspicion, So although they would have interrogated him, given the choice, now they merely forced their instincts aside and gave him their respect, though on occasion, it was a bit grudging.

_Perhaps I should offer to submit to questioning..._

"Hey," said Renji in a low, challenging tone, "What's that expression? Kuchiki Byakuya is a taichou and Aizen's own consort. Stop looking at him like you don't trust him! I have known this man forever. And he is a more honest man than the one sitting on the throne. You should thank your lucky stars Aizen brought him back from the dead. Otherwise, you don't want to know what our worlds would have to endure!"

With any other king in power, Renji might have been punished for saying such things, but the guardsmen merely frowned and excused themselves.

"Idiots," Renji muttered as they walked away, "How dare they insult you by being suspicious!"

"Easy Abarai," Byakuya said, smirking, "I don't need you getting all up in arms now. Come, let us explore this..."

"Eh...yeah," the redhead said, following him down the walkway along the wall, "It will be like old times, ne Taichou?"

"Stop calling me that," Byakuya said, shaking his head. I am not your taichou anymore."

"You may not be _my_ taichou," Renji countered, "but you are still a taichou."

"Just call me Byakuya," the noble insisted, "Let the others refer to me formally, but I'll not have such a thing from my old friend."

"Baka! I am not old!"

Byakuya smiled.

"Not in that sense. I meant old, as in familiar...in the way of friends."

"Right," Renji chuckled, stopping as Byakuya stopped.

A chill went through Renji as the noble stopped and looked around.

"What is it?" the redhead asked, "Do you sense something?"

"This area around the wall...don't you feel it, Renji? It feels like..."

He broke off as screeches rose up, seeming to come from within the dimension wall itself. A portion of the wall seemed to disappear and hollows burst through and filled the air and the forest around them.

"Get back to the palace, Byakuya," said Renji, "Remember what Aizen said. He said to let me do the fighting."

He almost wasn't surprised when he turned and found that Byakuya had left his side.

"Scatter, Senbonzakura."

"Hey!" Renji shouted, "I thought you weren't supposed to fight unless you were directly attacked!"

Byakuya glanced back at him as a wave of petals exploded from his blade and assaulted the incoming hollows.

"They invaded the spirit dimension, using my falsified reiatsu," the noble said calmly, "That is a direct assault on my honor, and they will die for it."

"T-taichou! Byakuya, now you _know_ that's not what Aizen meant!"

Byakuya smirked as his petals enveloped a group on hollows and turned them into falling ash.

"_You_ advising me to obey Aizen Sousuke?" he asked, shaking his head, "How very amusing, Renji..."

The redhead sent the skeletal snake blasting through a group of menos grande. Out of the corner of an eye, Renji saw Byakuya go on the attack again and turned his attention to another group of hollows. He sent them tumbling away and brought down a second group of menos, then turned his head to look for Byakuya.

"You had best pay attention," said the rasping voice of an attacking Arrancar, "or you will die."

A blast of kido sent the male hollow crashing to the ground, but he rose again almost instantly.

"Damn it! Stop being such a pain!" Renji roared, sending the skeletal snake after him, then moving in the direction Byakuya had gone.

He felt an odd chill, not seeing his former taichou, but hadn't sensed any change in the noble's reiatsu, so he turned back to finish off the Arrancar. But, even as he did, more hollows arrived and attacked him.

"Where the hell is the Royal Guard?" Renji mused, then he breathed a sigh of relief as a unit of fighters flash stepped to the breached section of the wall and attacked.

He looked around again, trying to locate the noble.

"Damn it, where are you?" he snapped, "You were supposed to stay with me!"

"Renji!" cried a familiar voice.

"Ichigo, I was wondering where you guys had run off to."

He chuckled as the ginger-haired youth sent a blast through the incoming hollows, then Grimmjow, Nel and Rukia flash stepped after him, loosing their attacks. Renji shook his head and turned again to go after Byakuya. He sensed the noble had left the main force and gone into the forest.

"What are you doing in there?" he mused.

Then it occurred to him.

"This attack at the wall was a distraction! He must have sensed others. And they'll probably be stronger ones..."

He shot forward at full speed, wondering at Byakuya for taking them on alone in his condition.

_But that's Byakuya for you...the guy doesn't know the meaning of the words 'take it easy.'_

_That recklessness is going to catch up with him, but I am here to make sure it doesn't happen today!_

XXXXXXXXXX

Byakuya followed the trail that the stealth invasion force had followed after slipping past the fighters at the wall. He disliked the close feel of the forest, knowing that fighting in amongst the trees like this would impede him somewhat. But he had no real concern for himself. More for the king these assassins had likely slipped in to kill. He pursued them at top speed, closing in on them swiftly and attacking immediately as he spotted them.

"Hado #73, Soren soukatsui." he intoned, sending twin blasts from his hands that sent one of the assassins to the ground.

He sent a swell of petals after the others, cutting apart another, leaving only two for him to address with his naked blade. His foot touched down and his sword crossed another as he moved into a blinding release of flash steps, slashes and shocks of kido. He had expected that the assassins would be talented fighters, and this one did not disappooint him. It managed well until he simply surround it in petals and loosed a devastating ban kai level assault.

"Gokei, Senbonzakura kageyoshi!"

The hollow disappeared, leaving only one left for him to capture.

_Yes, I want you to tell us how you managed to purloin or falsify my reiatsu..._

"Your henchmen are dead," he told the hooded figure, "And if you do not wish to join them, then you will drop your weapon now!"

The hooded hollow stood perfectly still as he closed in. Byakuya felt an odd chill slice through him, and stopped short of the hollow.

"Why did you stop?" asked a feminine voice from beneath the hood, "I thought you were going to apprehend me, ne Byakuya?"

He stared in silence as the hooded hollow drew her hood back, revealing her face. Byakuya's eyes went wide as he remembered...

_"Impale!" said the witch's voice in Byakuya's mind._

_He felt something sharp enter his body and heard himself scream in pain. But somehow, he felt separated from the sensation, though not the nightmare of cognizance._

_"Impale…" the witch said again._

_Another hot, stabbing pain passed through his body, making it yield another scream, then another…and another. He counted seven times that his body was breached before the witch whispered into his ear. He could sense that his disassociated body was panting heavily and groaning. Her hands touched his face and his vision slowly returned. He found that seven red bolts now protruded from her body and had pierced his. His breath came out in short, clipped gasps and his legs threatened to collapse beneath him._

_"Wh-what are you d-doing?" he managed in a harsh whisper._

_The witch gave him a wide, toothy smile._

_"I have connected our spirit centers. And when I give the final command, a last bolt will impale your heart. When that happens, my power will flood your body and restore your spirit centers. Do not worry, Kuchiki taichou, the nightmare is almost over. Now, look into my eyes and do not look down!"_

_Byakuya took a shuddering breath and locked his eyes on hers. The witch's eyes looked back at him with challenge. She waited a long moment to tease him, then her lips parted and she whispered the last command._

_"Pierce and open!"_

_There was no time to move as a final red bolt emerged from the hollow hole in her chest and shot forward. Byakuya knew better than to break eye contact and look down, but his eye picked up the motion anyway, and the pain, when it made contact was nearly shattering. This time, there was no distance between the pain and him. And, he realized, she had wanted it this way. She had to have known that his eye would not miss the motion…and by seeing, he lost his protection from the pain of what was happening. He was sickened with the certainty that she had purposely restored his vision before to make sure he felt it._

_The witch's power rose and the red bolts that impaled him flared and stung inside his body, tearing at body and flesh until there was no holding back. Screams forced themselves from his restrained form and the witch smiled, opened her mouth wide and drank in the sounds of his pain. He didn't know how long they remained there, his hazed eyes frozen and locked on hers. Finally, the pain receded. The witch hissed something he couldn't understand, and all six bolts suddenly tore themselves from his body. Blood exploded out of him and he dropped to his knees, gasping as it continued to pour out of him. The witch stood over him, laughing._

"You!" Byakuya gasped, his hand touching his chest, over his pounding heart, "You are that hollow witch!"

The witch smiled.

"You remember me, _dear Byakuya_! How touching..."

"Why have you come here?" the noble asked, taking a step forward and raising his blade threateningly.

"I did promise you that I would find you and make you pay for destroying my home," the witch purred.

"How were you able to make the key to breach the dimension wall!" Byakuya demanded, closing in on her, "How...?"

The witch's soft cackle sent a chill through him, but he took another step forward, raising his spiritual pressure.

"You are under arrest for infiltrating the spirit dimension and plotting to kill the king!" the noble declared.

The witch's laugh grew louder, until it echoed in the trees that surrounded them. He launched himself forward, his sword blazing with power that belied the vision of his very pregnant body. He brought the weapon down, then froze as the witch's hand rose, holding up an odd silver charm with a blood red flower shaped like a sakura blossom at its center. Byakuya's breath left him as he realized what the red flower must be composed of. He had a flash memory of the blood and reiatsu that had exploded from his body as the witch returned his powers.

_I should have expected that there was some greater benefit for you in returning my powers. This was it then, wasn't it? You wanted to help me so that you could harvest my blood and reiatsu...so that you could come here and kill him._

_But...I will not let you!_

His eyes glared down into hers as he reached her, and Senbonzakura fell towards her. Red light burst from the charm, and Byakuya felt his body go numb. Unable to regain control, he landed roughly on his knees in front of her. She stared down into his stunned eyes, her own going deadly and red with killing rage.

"But, my sweet noble consort," she said softly, "I did not come to the spirit dimension for _him_. I came here...for _you_!"

XXXXXXXXXX

Renji felt the sudden decline of Byakuya's spiritual pressure and loosed a furious curse. He flash stepped madly towards where he sensed the noble had fallen, and spotted him a moment later, alone and collapsed on the soft forest floor among the trees. He sensed the fallen enemies nearby and concluded that he must have finished them off before collapsing.

"That's my Taichou," he said, flash stepping to Byakuya's side.

He dropped onto his knees and quickly examined the noble.

"No obvious injuries...nothing reiatsu invasive...looks like you just got a little too into the fight and zapped your own spirit energy. Come on, let's get you back to the palace before your damned husband kills me for letting you break a fucking nail!"

He lifted Byakuya into his arms and flash stepped back towards the palace. As he disappeared down the trail, the witch watched from the cover of the trees, her lips curling back in a wicked, toothy grin.


	4. Acts of Love

**Chapter 4: Acts of Love**

**(Thanks to unsigned readers Iloveaizenandbyakuya, Byakuyafangirl and Pippermint!)**

Byakuya's eyes slowly opened and fixed on the handsome of the man sitting in the chair next to his bed. He had fully expected Aizen to be riled by the fact of his taking part in the battle, but the deeper worry in his eyes felt unsettling.

"Sousuke?"

Aizen's eyes blinked slowly.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," he said quietly, I have tried looking the other way. I have tried asking, bribing, teasing, manipulating and punishing you, but nothing seems to get through to you. I am nearly prepared to simply imprison you until you give birth, so stubbornly do you pursue conflict. Is there a way that we can come to an agreement? I could kill Abarai Renji for letting you be hurt when he was supposed to..."

"Do not blame Renji," Byakuya said, shaking his head gently, "I admit that I entered the battle over his objections, and at a moment when he was distracted. But I only involved myself because I spotted a group of assassins slipping around the main diversionary force. There was no time to explain or to alert anyone. It happened very quickly. And to be honest, I don't think I was injured. I don't remember being hit. I think that I just lost consciousness after the fight."

"But, Byakuya, you should not have been involved at all. That you continue to involve yourself in these skirmishes, despite your condition is cause for concern, and no amount of talking seems to change anything. It grieves me to have to take away your choices, but if I allow this to continue, the price could be unbearably high. We have already suffered the loss of a child. And I admit to having been the impetus for that happening. That said, I must err on the side of caution...as much as I admit to enjoying your finer spirits. I know that you are only doing this out of a desire to protect me. But I also have a desire to protect you and our unborn offspring, even if that angers you."

Aizen slipped a silver band around the noble's slender wrist, then kissed his fingertips. He rose wordlessly and walked to the bedroom door.

"That band holds back all but defensive powers, and will return you to this room if you attempt to leave the palace without my permission."

He started to turn away, but heard a flash step and paused as Byakuya appeared in front of him. The noble's dark eyes sought his, and Byakuya's pale hands captured his face. Aizen said nothing, but gazed at him quietly, waiting for him to speak.

"Sousuke," Byakuya said softly, "I understand...and I am not angry. Please do not go."

Aizen looked into his eyes for a moment longer, then wrapped his hands around Byakuya's wrists and gently removed them from where they touched his face.

"You may not be angry," he said quietly, "But I am. You put me in a position that I do not appreciate being in. And because my anger tends to have destructive force, I will not remain here and burden you with it. Rest. Stay out of conflict. Focus your protection on the one who really needs it."

Aizen disappeared in a flash step before Byakuya could reply.

"Sousuke..." he whispered, looking in the direction the king had gone, "I am sorry."

He looked at the bed, but felt the absence of his lover too much to take comfort there. He walked instead to the balcony and stood, looking down into the king's gardens.

_His anger with me must be very great. I cannot even pass the barrier to walk in the gardens. But I imagine I deserve that. I let those awful dreams I have been having affect my judgment, and I did become reckless. I couldn't seem to stop myself._

He heard a footstep of someone entering the bedroom and turned, thinking it was Aizen returning.

"Sousuke, I..."

He broke off, seeing that it was only his attendant.

"Abarai Renji is here to see you, Kuchiki-sama."

"Very well," the noble said, trying to hide his disappointment that Aizen had not come back, "Allow him inside."

The attendant left, and a moment later, Renji entered the room and joined him on the balcony.

"I believe that I owe you an apology, Renji," he said quietly, his eyes focused on the gardens, "I know he likely took his frustrations with me out on you."

"Yeah," the redhead chuckled, good naturedly, "He did give me an earful. But don't worry about me. It's not like the guy hasn't tried to intimidate me before. And at least this time, he didn't cut me nearly in half."

His face grew serious again as he noted the disturbance in his former taichou's reiatsu.

"It looks like he got to you, though," the redhead went on, "Are you okay?"

"I am fine," Byakuya responded, gazing out at the darkening sky, "And you do not have to worry about me tempting fate anymore. I have no more desire to rile my husband. I pushed him to the point where he is genuinely furious with me. With anyone else, he would have used more direct intimidation and would never have felt the need to apologize. But I hold a unique place in that man's heart, and so he would rather withdraw from me than to let me feel the full force of his emotions."

Renji sighed and wrapped an arm around the noble.

"Look, forget about him for a while. Let him go and blow off some steam. I'm sure he'll be waiting for us at the dinner table."

"Perhaps you are right," Byakuya said, his eyes distant.

"Hey, even if I'm not, you know the guy's world revolves around you. You may be Aizen Sousuke's only real weakness."

Renji caught his breath softly at the mist of sadness that passed over the noble at his words.

"You are right, of course," Byakuya said softly, "And I wonder if he now regrets allowing himself that vulnerability."

Renji's lips tightened.

"Don't go there, Byakuya," he said, shaking his head, "I'm kinda pissed you make me have to say it, but fate put the two of you together. Don't question that. Every couple has their ups and downs. Yours are just more extreme and sometimes dangerous because of who the two of you are. But don't question that you belong together. Remember that you laid down your life for that guy. And he broke the bonds of death to bring you back after you sacrificed yourself for him. So, if he needs some time to gather himself after the fright you gave everyone, give him that. And don't get depressed about it. He isn't going to stay away from you long. I don't think he can. As much as I hate him for it, the guy loves you. If he didn't...if he wasn't sincere, you know that I would steal you away from him in a second."

Byakuya couldn't quite contain the smile that grew on his lips at the redhead's words. He felt the weight lift from his heart and nodded briefly.

"Arigato, Renji," he said, meeting his former subordinate's warm, red-brown eyes, "I appreciate you talking some sense into me."

"Well, someone had to. And you don't really listen to anyone but Aizen, and sometimes me. I'm glad I could help. So...will you come to dinner with me? Ichigo, Grimmjow, Nel and Rukia are all going to be staying over for a while, along with me."

"You are?" queried Byakuya, "Why? Is there concern about additional assassins breaching the palace defenses?"

Renji sighed and shook his head.

"You just can't stop yourself, can you," he mused, "But to answer your question, no. Your husband invited us to stay."

"S-sousuke asked you to stay?" Byakuya asked, looking surprised.

Renji smiled a little sadly.

"I think you really freaked him out this time. He's hoping that if we are here, we can keep you occupied so that you will stay out of trouble. He's also figuring that if there are assassins trying to penetrate the palace, he wants to protect you. And he knows it won't do a bit of good to use normal bodyguards for that, ne?"

Byakuya loosed a soft chuckle.

"No, probably not," he agreed.

"So he wants us to also watch out for you. And I really hope you will let us. All of us remember what it felt like when you left us. We'll be damned if we let it happen to you again."

Byakuya gave him a look of deep gratitude.

"Arigato, Renji. I will do my best not to interfere with your efforts."

"Good," Renji said, releasing the noble, "What we do won't be worth shit if you don't work with us."

"You will have my cooperation," Byakuya said, nodding, "Go on. I will meet you in the banquet hall."

He watched as Renji left, then stood quietly as his attendant dressed him for dinner. He was surprised, and more than a little disappointed when Aizen did not reappear to walk him to dinner, but he took Renji's advice and tried not to let it bother him, as his spouse might need reflective time after their falling out. But his resolve crumbled when he arrived at the banquet hall and Aizen's attendant arrived to inform him that the king would not be in attendance. He accepted the message quietly and joined his guests in the banquet hall, but he said little and felt no appetite.

"Nii-sama, it is good to see you," said Rukia, slipping her arms around him and kissing him on the cheek.

"It is good to see you as well, Rukia," he replied solemnly.

He turned to greet his grandfather, who had just arrived, then sat down.

"You do that pretty gracefully for a guy who looks like he's about to have that baby," laughed Grimmjow.

"Hey, don't piss him off," said Ichigo, "He already looks depressed."

"But why are you depressed?" asked Nel, "I thought that you were happy being here with King Aizen. Did something happen?"

"No," Byakuya replied quietly, "I am fine. We are both fine."

"Huh," huffed Grimmjow skeptically, "That's why his highness isn't joining us, ne?"

"Shut up, will you?" Ichigo said, sounding annoyed, "Everybody has off days, even kings. So shut up."

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed.

"You want to make me?" he asked, his icy blue eyes glinting.

"Would you guys stop flirting with each other and try to focus?" complained Renji, "You are getting on his nerves _and_ mine!"

"You're all getting on my nerves," sighed Rukia, rolling her eyes and shaking her head.

"Get used to it!" Ichigo and Grimmjow said together.

"Gods...you guys really deserve each other, you know?" chuckled Renji, "You're both arrogant and belligerent."

"I'm surprised you even know that word," commented Ichigo.

"He probably learned it while he was serving beneath Kuchiki," said Grimmjow, smirking, "Though, I think that it wasn't verbal arts he was studying while there..."

"Hey!" objected the redhead, "Knock it off! Don't you talk about Tai...eh, Byakuya that way!"

"Oh...on a first name basis with him?" Grimmjow asked slyly, "How did that happen, Renji? You do him some special favors?"

"Argh!" snapped Renji, "I said, knock it off!"

"Be quiet! All of you," exclaimed Rukia, "Did you idiots forget we are in the palace, and my brother's grandfather is sitting over there? Keep it down and stop misbehaving!"

Byakuya was inwardly grateful for the normal sounding banters. His heart still ached at Aizen's withdrawal and absence. And even understanding his mate's need for reflection, he wished the man would return just long enough for him to say just two words.

_I'm sorry..._

He tried to focus on his meal and on the pleasantness of having friends around him. But the empty feeling inside him only grew, and eventually began to feel overwhelming. He knew that the emotions were made unusually strong by his pregnancy, but rather than allow his friends to see how distressed he felt, he excused himself early and returned to his room. He readied himself for bed, then lingered out on the balcony until it became clear that he would be spending the night alone.

_He is that angry with me?_

He finally gave up and climbed into bed, but it felt cold and empty without Aizen there. He admonished himself for being too clingy and dependent, but only succeeded in making himself even more unhappy. He managed to drift off, but was almost immediately assaulted with a nightmare.

_"You!" Byakuya gasped, his hand touching his chest, over his pounding heart, "You are that hollow witch!"_

_The witch smiled._

_"You remember me, dear Byakuya! How touching..."_

_"Why have you come here?" the noble asked, taking a step forward and raising his blade threateningly._

_"I did promise you that I would find you and make you pay for destroying my home," the witch purred._

_"How were you able to make the key to breach the dimension wall!" Byakuya demanded, closing in on her, "How...?"_

_The witch's soft cackle sent a chill through him, but he took another step forward, raising his spiritual pressure._

_"You are under arrest for infiltrating the spirit dimension and plotting to kill the king!" the noble declared._

_The witch's laugh grew louder, until it echoed in the trees that surrounded them. He launched himself forward, his sword blazing with power that belied the vision of his very pregnant body. He brought the weapon down, then froze as the witch's hand rose, holding up an odd silver charm with a blood red flower shaped like a sakura blossom at its center. Byakuya's breath left him as he realized what the red flower must be composed of. He had a flash memory of the blood and reiatsu that had exploded from his body as the witch returned his powers._

_I should have expected that there was some greater benefit for you in returning my powers. This was it then, wasn't it? You wanted to help me so that you could harvest my blood and reiatsu...so that you could come here and kill him._

_But...I will not let you!_

_His eyes glared down into hers as he reached her, and Senbonzakura fell towards her. Red light burst from the charm, and Byakuya felt his body go numb. Unable to regain control, he landed roughly on his knees in front of her. She stared down into his stunned eyes, her own going deadly and red with killing rage._

_"But, my sweet noble consort," she said softly, "I did not come to the spirit dimension for him. I came here...for you!"_

_She reached down and touched the charm to Byakuya's chest, over his heart._

_"Feed," she commanded the device._

_Byakuya's eyes widened and he slid the rest of the way to the ground._

_"What did you do to me?" he gasped, "You...!"_

_The witch gave him a wicked smile._

_"You will see," she said, touching his face and sending him spinning into darkness, "Very soon, you will see."_

Byakuya sat up suddenly in bed, clutching his chest and unable to quell the cry that broke from his lips. The door to the bedroom opened and Torio ran inside.

"Kuchiki-sama, are you all right?" he asked worriedly.

Byakuya started to answer, but was stopped as a sharp pain gripped his abdomen. He gave another strangled cry and bent forward grasping his midsection. His face went ghostly pale and sickness rose up so quickly that he barely had time to position himself over a trash bin. He bent over the edge of the bed, retching violently as Torio climbed onto the bed and held him to keep him from falling. He panted fitfully, trying to catch his breath, then threw up again and began to lose consciousness. The room seemed to grow painfully bright and the frantic cadence of his heart seemed to drown out all other sound. He felt the bed move again and sensed the return of Aizen's comforting presence. His husband's arms wrapped around him, and his voice sounded distortedly in the noble's ringing ears.

His arms looped around Aizen's shoulders as he was lifted and carried a short distance. He felt himself being lowered into another bed and Aizen's hand slipped into his. The healer's hands touched him several times and he could hear concern in the man's voice. He felt the sting of an injection and his mind began to drift. He began to lose consciousness again, but managed to catch the last exchange between Aizen and the healer.

_"It may just be stress. I assure you it is no injury I can find, but he lost an unusual amount of his reiatsu somehow. I restored him after he was brought back from the battle at the dimension wall, but it is low again. I am giving him an infusion to help bolster him."_

_"Do what you have to," Aizen' said, his fingers stroking Byakuya's, "Do whatever you have to do to help them. I am not losing them."_

_"I won't let that happen," said the healer, "I will do everything I can to stabilize them."_

"Sousuke?" Byakuya whispered, "Sousuke, what happened? Why am I here?"

"You had another nightmare and your spiritual pressure seemed unstable. Do you remember anything of what happened?"

"N-no," the noble moaned, falling back into senselessness, "I don't remember..."

"That is all right. Just rest for a while."

"You won't leave?"

"No."

"Arigato, Sousuke."

He felt light pressure on his lips.

"Do not think of leaving me again, Kuchiki Byakuya. I will not allow it to happen."

Outside the castle, hidden within the king's gardens, the hollow witch curved her hand around the charm she had used on Byakuya, and focused deeply. She began to see a faded image of Aizen, where he sat, looking down at his consort.

She laughed softly.

"Now, I see everything you do, Kuchiki Byakuya. I hear everything you hear. I will be with you every moment as he witnesses your slow destruction. But don't worry, I won't make him watch you die. It would be too dangerous for me to leave you here that long. No...you will die in my dark demesne in the world of the hollows, bringing _him_ back to life. And when it is over, you will be one of us. You will lure Aizen to us and we will kill him. Then...the rightful king will be crowned...and he will be beholden to me for it. And believe me that I will have my reward for the inconvenience. Yes, _he_ will be very grateful to me, when _he_ returns."

The scene before her eyes went dark as Byakuya lost consciousness again. But she smiled as she felt Aizen's hand squeeze the noble's, and his voice sounded one last time.

"Aishiteru yo, Byakuya."

"And he loves you to death," the witch hissed softly.


	5. Cravings

**Chapter 5: Cravings**

A warm shaft of sunlight coming in through the balcony doors nudged Byakuya awake. He turned to settle into Aizen's arms, but found the other side of the bed empty. He sat up to look around the room and immediately saw bright spots before his eyes. Lying back down, he took slow breaths until the spots disappeared.

"Good morning, Byakuya-sama," Torio greeted him, "Or actually, good afternoon. You have slept through much of the day, recovering, sir.

The attendant headed for the closet and laid out, yet another, new kimono. And though it might well have been the loveliest he had yet seen, he felt like tearing the wretched cloth to pieces and burning it. He touched the golden sakura pendant at his throat, climbed slowly out of bed and walked out onto the balcony as Torio watched quietly from within the room.

_He said that he would stay, but apparently he only meant until he was sure I wouldn't die. Is he still angry with me? I don't even know. He won't even talk to me. Is he worried that I'm so fragile now that his anger could hurt me and this baby? Or...could he really be growing distant? After everything we have endured together, could Sousuke be falling out of love with me?_

He hated the tears that rose in his eyes at the mere thought.

_I wasn't raised to be a weak person, _he thought, as one broke free and rolled down a porcelain cheek, _but this pregnancy takes everything from me._

He sighed softly, trying to ignore a second tear that wet his face.

_I was the leader of the greatest of the noble houses. I fought with all of my heart and strength to place Sousuke on the throne. He broke all kinds of rules to bring me back...but for what? To be bred and forgotten? To be made weak and useless? I do not know how to be anything but strong. I do not know how to live any life but that of a warrior. To be bound to the palace and bereft of my powers is like having the air sucked from my lungs. And to make matters worse, he is still punishing me with his absence. Even having his way wasn't enough..._

"Byakuya-sama?"

"You may go, Torio."

"S-sir? I was to dress you to go to eat."

"Bring something here. I am not feeling well."

Torio frowned worriedly.

"Would you like me to bring a healer, sir?"

"No."

"As you wish, sir. I will be back with your meal."

Byakuya stood on the balcony, rubbing his pregnant belly and staring out into the gardens. He sat down on a reclining chair and gazed up at the sky, studying the puffy white clouds that passed over him. He longed for night, and the return of the bright moon, so that he could simply disappear into the sweet pulses of feral energy it sent down into his body. Whatever his situation, the moonlight had always invigorated him.

Torio returned with tea and left it on a small table next to him, then lingered in the room, watching from a distance. And while Byakuya knew that Torio was very devoted to him, he couldn't help but see it as another irritation that so many eyes watched him now, but the only ones he longed to see, refused to look at him.

_Why?_

"Byakuya-sama, Abarai Renji has come to see you."

"Please tell him I am resting. I will see him later."

"Yes, sir."

"And Torio...please give the same message to anyone else who asks."

"Yes, Byakuya-sama."

His attendant turned and left the room to get his meal, leaving Byakuya sitting silently and staring out into the gardens. He wasn't sure how long it was before a footstep sounded in the room behind him, and he smelled the food. Oddly, though his stomach rumbled hungrily, still, he had no appetite.

_It is not food that I hunger for..._

"Just leave it there, Torio," he said, standing, "You may go."

He walked to the railing, a feeling of suffocation enveloping him until he thought he would scream. He didn't want to frighten his attendant, so he kept himself facing out into the gardens as tears overtook him again. His legs nearly gave way as Aizen's arms suddenly encircled him from behind and the king's lips planted a gentle kiss on the side of his neck.

"I heard that you were not up to company," the other man's voice said softly in his ear, "Are you all right?"

"I am fine," Byakuya managed, carefully keeping his head turned away, so that he could not see the tears, "You needn't have troubled yourself coming back here. I just did not feel like seeing anyone right now."

"You want to be alone?" asked Aizen, "Do you want me to leave?"

"No."

"Then, you want something else? Apparently not food or drink, though I know you have not eaten this morning. What is troubling you, Byakuya?"

Byakuya caught his breath softly as he was turned and Aizen's eyes widened at the sight of the tears on his face.

"Do not tell me you are fine. Despite having what you need, you are in tears. I know that pregnancy makes your emotions more pronounced, but you begin to worry me with this deeper melancholy, Byakuya. Tell me, what is it that you need?"

Byakuya slipped his arms around Aizen, holding him tightly and resting his head on the other man's shoulder as Aizen's arms closed around him again.

"I have what I need, here," the noble said quietly, "If I have only this much of you, I can make myself do whatever else you ask...just...do not be angry with me anymore, Sousuke. I am powerless, weak and drowning in humiliation. To have you withdraw from me becomes intolerable. I hardly know myself anymore. But then...perhaps that is why you find me less desirable."

"What are you talking about?" Aizen said, taking Byakuya's face in his hands and gazing down into his damp, but somehow still prideful gray eyes, "What have I done that made you think such a thing? I have been lenient with you, to the point of endangering our child. I have showered you with gifts, asked your friends to the palace to keep you company, and I will return your powers as soon as you give birth. You know that. How does any of that tell you that you are less desirable? If anything, you should be reassured that I care about what happens to you."

"You told me that you were angry with me," Byakuya said, breathing in the king's pleasant, masculine scent, "and the only time you have come to me since then, was when you were convinced I was dying. How am I supposed to interpret that? You want me powerless and under guard? Very well, you have that. I have nothing to do now but sit and gestate for however long it takes. But I am telling you, this is not natural to me. It is intolerable...and it is made even more so because I am forced to bear it alone."

"But you do not have to be alone. That is why your..."

"I am glad they are here," Byakuya said, interrupting him, "but I cannot enjoy their company properly if the one person who matters most to me is so angry he will only come to me if I am dying."

"Byakuya, don't say things like that," Aizen said, frowning, "I was, I admit, avoiding you to some extent, but to avoid conflict. I do not enjoy forcing things on you. I prefer to let you conduct yourself as you will, but I could not allow you to endanger yourself and our child anymore. I imagined that if I stayed with you, it would only have ended in arguments over what steps I took."

"And I just told you, I accept your terms. Just do not disappear again. I understand that, as lord over the three worlds, you are a busy person, but we could at very least sleep together when you do decide to sleep."

Aizen narrowed his eyes, smirking.

"My Byakuya wants me to sleep with him, ne?" he said silkenly, "And...promises not to try to use his vampish charms to weaken my resolve about his protections?"

Byakuya sighed in resignation.

"Yes."

"Very well," said Aizen, smiling at the relief that rose up in the noble's eyes, "If you can manage to confine yourself to eating as you are supposed to, taking care of yourself, and visiting with your friends, I will return to you tonight."

"But..."

He disappeared in a flash step, leaving Byakuya staring after him. Anger boiled up inside the noble and he stepped back in off the balcony, his reiatsu sparking dangerously.

"_Bastard_!" he hissed, "You...!"

He broke off as a smiling Aizen appeared suddenly in front of him and brought him down on his back on the bed.

"What?" gasped the noble, "Sousuke, what are you...?"

"I was teasing," the king said, nipping at the noble's frowning lips, "I know you didn't mean for me to _leave_ until tonight."

"Ah..." Byakuya said, narrowing his eyes and shaking his head in annoyance, "Sousuke..."

"I rile you?" said Aizen, "Frustrate you? Infuriate you sometimes? Because you do the same to me, my Byakuya. It is endearing, except when it threatens to cause us real damage."

He captured Byakuya's lips in a sweet, savory kiss, then plunged deeply into his mouth, sucking Byakuya's tongue into his mouth and tormenting it as his hands undid the noble's yukata. He continued to feed his lover, deep, penetrating kisses, while caressing the baby bump on his abdomen, then moving downward to tease him more erotically. He trailed kisses down Byakuya's muscular chest, then bent to nuzzle the area where their child grew. He felt Byakuya's fingers sink into his hair, and felt light pressure. Looking up into the noble's smoky eyes, he continued to kiss his way down to his lover's hungry nether region. Hekissed, suckled and teased until a pretty blush warmed Byakuya's face and throat and his mind was too muddled to remember why he had been so out of sorts. He released soft, moaning sighs and writhed restlessly, his lips finally smiling as he felt the full return of his lover's affections.

Aizen pushed his thighs open wider, nipping and tasting the fine flesh, then moving on to sweetly torment him until his heart was pounding fitfully and he couldn't hold back his intense, gripping sounds of pleasure.

Aizen's fingers invaded, bringing him to the edges of ecstasy, then holding him gently suspended there. He teased with his fingers, then mounted him, taking him over and off into sweet oblivion in a storm of wickedly beautiful thrusts, heavy strokes and deep caresses. And if it wasn't enough to be physically touched that way, Aizen's voice sounded softly in his ear, sweeping away any remaining doubts he had about what his royal mate felt for him. He rode out the lovely waves of pleasure, gasping as Aizen's heat flared and circled inside him, then surrendering to a hail of gentler, wet finishing kisses. He drifted towards sleep, looking up into Aizen affectionate eyes, reassured by the intense warmth he found there.

_The man can very cold sometimes, but I was foolish to doubt his love for me for even a moment._

Aizen smiled at him and offered him a cup of hot tea. Byakuya blushed, noting the attendant had to have come in while they were in the heavy throes of passion, then reminding himself belatedly that, even so, his lover's powers would have ensured their privacy. He closed his eyes and savored the tea, then shared a hot, filling meal with him, and finally felt the full return of contentment.

"Would you like to walk in the gardens with me?" the king asked.

They didn't bother to dress, but cloaked themselves in Aizen's illusions and walked slowly among the trees and flowers, breathing in the fresh air and talking quietly. They slipped in under the gentle waterfall in the healing pool and surrendered again to their passions, oblivious to the world outside the two of them. Finally, they left the water and let their bodies dry under the pleasant warmth of the late afternoon sun as they walked back to their room and flash stepped up onto the balcony. They lingered there, watching the sun set and the stars and moon come out.

"Are you feeling better? More like yourself, my love?" asked Aizen, "I hope that our time together will have cured you of your melancholy."

"It has. Arigato, Sousuke. I do not even remember why I was so overwrought."

"Good. That was my intent," the king answered.

His hand found Byakuya's pale wrist and touched the silver band there. Byakuya watched quietly, his eyes questioning.

"You will be able to walk in the gardens now, as long as you do not stray away from the palace. I think the fresh air is good for you."

"It is not the fresh air that has brought life back into me, Sousuke," sighed the noble, nuzzling deeper into the king's strong arms and gazing up at the moon, smiling contentedly, "All I really needed was to feel close to you."

"Then I can send your annoying former vice captain back to the Seireitei? I want to kill him sometimes for the way he looks at you."

"Don't you dare. Renji has been my friend for ages. He would never overstep boundaries with me."

"He had better not."

Aizen breathed in deeply and closed his eyes, letting his hands run down his consort's lovely, slender body and nipping warmly at the noble's soft, white throat, caressing the large bump beneath which their baby rested and loosing his breath again in a happy sigh. They lingered on the balcony, exchanging slow, passionate kisses as the stars crawled slowly across the sky above them.

"You should get some rest now," Aizen suggested, "You begin to look weary. Should I call in a healer for another reiatsu infusion?"

"I am fine," Byakuya assured him, "I feel fine now. But I do think I will sleep deeply tonight."

"Good. That is as it should be. You should sleep well every night."

"But that would mean that you would have to spoil me like this every night. And if you focused all of your time on me, however would you run the three worlds? Everything would fall apart and be in complete disarray."

"And you and I would not notice a thing," Aizen said, smirking, "We would be lost, far too deeply in each other's eyes to notice such mundane things."

"Really Sousuke..."

Aizen laughed softly and buried the noble's warm, flushed lips in tender kisses, then coaxed him back towards the bedroom.

"Come, Byakuya," he said, "Lie down with me."

Byakuya's eyes locked on Aizen's and he stepped back inside the room. He moved forward and then paused beside the bed as Aizen's arms wrapped around him, and the king's mouth rained hard, hungry kisses down onto his. He shivered softly, loving the intense swell of Aizen's strong reiatsu as it curled around and embraced him. He felt as though his feet might have left the ground, as though he might be floating free of his body.

He thought he heard Aizen's voice in his ear, but felt oddly removed from the sound. He could hardly feel the body he dwelled in, as light as it had become. He tried to tighten his arms around Aizen to anchor himself, but felt the darkness taking hold of him. He had one last glimpse of Aizen's concerned expression and heard his oddly distorted voice, then his legs gave way and he sank the rest of the way into blackness and ominous silence.

_What is this?_

_What is happening?_


	6. To the Last of Our Days

**Chapter 6: To The Last of Our Days**

Aizen Sousuke was not one who was given to being foolish, not for love or much of anything else. He had learned early on, how unwise it was to depend, to trust, to love. But the day that Kuchiki Byakuya had come to free him from his incarceration in the bowels of Central 46, was the day that those actions had begun to make sense to him.

_"I have…a visitor?"_

_Byakuya reached into his shihakushou and removed an artifact that Ginrei had pressed into his hand before leaving him. He gazed down at the silver chain and at the golden crests at each end. He placed one against his breast and whispered the words of activation, shivering as the power of the artifact flooded his body. He set the other crest against Aizen's right hand._

_"What? What are you doing?"_

_Byakuya activated the second crest, gasping as the power exploded around their two bodies. He loosed the prisoner's hand and brought it to rest over his heart. As the two crests touched, their power flared hotly around the two shinigamis. Both emitted shocked cries and Byakuya fell forward against the restrained prisoner. His chest heaved as he struggled to raise himself, to remove the binding over the other's eyes and to reveal himself._

_"K-kuchiki Byakuya?"_

_Inquisitive brown eyes watched in surprise as the noble unbound his lower body, moved their clothing aside and climbed onto his lap. A smile crept onto the other man's lips._

_"Are you purposely trying to earn a death sentence? And for such a pittance?" he asked mockingly, "Not that I mind, really. I have been quite lonely here, but truly…I had no idea you were…"_

_"Shut up!" hissed Byakuya angrily._

_Slowly, he leaned forward, resting a hand on the prisoner's shoulder and bringing their lips together._

_Aizen laughed softly._

_"I see. You need to be protected from me. You need me for something, then?" he asked._

_Byakuya started to pull away, but was stopped as the fingers touching his chest curled and the power of the crests held him fast. Aizen's eyes met his, freezing him in place._

_"I imagine that the circumstances are dire or I would not have the pleasure of being with you in such a way," he breathed in the noble's ear, "but you must realize the precariousness of your situation, Byakuya. I am partially unbound and if I am but able to touch my blade, which you have been so kind to bring to me, I could break free and disappear. So pray, be quick about what you are doing, or I will kill you and simply disappear."_

_Byakuya swallowed hard as he realized that given the close proximity of the blade, he could have been undone already._

_"Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance?" he asked softly._

_The man smiled._

_"I told you, Kuchiki Byakuya…I have been alone for a very long time. And…you have piqued my interest. Now…you must decide. Are you going to bind yourself to me or not? It must have been important, or you would not lower yourself, I know."_

_"It is important."_

_"Unbind me."_

_"No."_

_Shock flooded the noble as the reiatsu rose around them and the prisoner broke free. A moment later, he was lying on his back on the floor, the prisoner leaning over him…his hand still pressed to Byakuya's chest and the power of the sealing charm flaring. Byakuya waited breathlessly for the end to come, but felt another hard jolt strike him as his thighs were nudged apart and the man's hand moved down to prepare him with surprising gentleness._

_"Why are you doing this? You could have just killed me and walked away." Byakuya said quietly._

_"Why are you doing this? You needn't have risked life, limb and reputation to free me, Kuchiki Byakuya," the man whispered back._

_"I am certainly not doing this for you," the noble said coldly._

_"And I am not doing this for you," the man said, settling between Byakuya's parted thighs and slowly entering him, "We both have our reasons for doing this unexpected thing, Byakuya. We shall just have to see where it leads."_

_Byakuya caught his breath and released it in a hiss of pain as the other man's body claimed his._

And as much as loving the stoic, loyal and devastatingly lovely man was dangerous, he could not hold himself away. Despite having nearly been separated by Byakuya's death during his struggle to ascend to the throne, he knew better than to think he could simply let go now. There were some risks, he found, that could not be avoided.

_What we are enduring now is the very danger that I tried to avoid by holding my heart away from love. But this man passed through all of my defenses, earning with his devotion and loyalty, a place I did not plan to yield to anyone. _

He closed his eyes, holding Byakuya's limp, pale hand, pressed to his lips, and trying to decide at what point he had become so reckless and foolish. But sliding a hand down to rub the swollen bump on Byakuya's abdomen, beneath which their child rested, he forgot about that question and focused on that small bit of life that seemed to make everything worthwhile. He thought back to a few nights before, when Byakuya had indicated a similar line of thinking.

_Byakuya smiled contentedly as he stood on the balcony, watching the sunset, with his lover embracing him gently from behind and Aizen's warm hand caressing the bump on his abdomen._

_"Our child knows it is you," the noble said, coaxing a curious look from his royal mate, "The baby becomes active and pushes against the part of me that holds him or her back from being born right now. I recognize that restlessness to ascend to a greater fate."_

_Aizen smiled and pressed his lips to the side of the noble's lovely, white throat._

_"I did plan to have children," the noble said solemnly, "but before, it was out of loyalty to my family. And in the wake of losing my wife and our unborn child, I chose to focus on it as a matter of duty, holding my heart away from the joy to avoid the ache of loss if the miracle did not come to fruition. But this child...this joining of our bodies and hearts...Sousuke, I am not able to hold back anything. Even having lost our first baby, I cannot help but let the emotion have its way with me, the peace of loving this child falls over my heart and makes it a slave, much as did loving you. For even the threat of loss cannot match the beauty of these moments. We are together already, even before our baby first draws breath. And I will embrace every lovely moment heedlessly. Nothing will ever make me regret doing that."_

"And I will embrace this time with both of you," Aizen whispered into his unconscious lover's ear, "And neither will I allow myself to regret it."

"My lord," said the healer from somewhere behind him, "I have the early results of the testing. If you will come with me..."

"Go and tell his friends that they may come in and sit with him now," Aizen said quietly.

He raised Byakuya's hand to his lips again, then leaned forward to kiss him on the lips.

"I need to go and speak with your healer. Your friends will keep you company until I return."

He rose as the others came into the hospital room and took their places around him. And despite his lack of fondness for Byakuya's red-haired former fukutaichou, he was glad that his lovely mate would not be alone while he and the healer conversed. For some reason, the thought of Byakuya suffering alone made him unbearably uncomfortable. He followed the healer into his office and waited quietly as the man closed the door to give them privacy.

"I take it that the news is not good," said Aizen, "If it was, then you would not have hesitated to speak it in my consort's presence."

"I will be honest with you, I do not know why what's happening is happening, but Kuchiki Byakuya is beginning to fade."

"What?" said Aizen, his eyes and reiatsu darkening.

"Something that I have not yet been able to isolate, is causing his reiatsu to destabilize. It is slowly leaking away...at a rate too extreme for our current technology to compensate."

"You are saying that reiatsu infusions do not work to stabilize him?" asked Aizen.

"The infusions do help in the short term, but they only slow the inevitable. I am afraid that if he continues along the path he is on, then Kuchiki Byakuya is going to die."

The impact of the healer's words brought Aizen Sousuke's defenses up with an almost audible snap. Instead of panic, he reacted with an intense calm that others might mistake for coldness, but in Aizen Sousuke was just a means of maintaining his ability to make decisions amidst whatever chaos life handed him.

"Is this happening because he is pregnant?" Aizen asked quietly.

"No," said the healer, "Up to this point, he has tolerated the pregnancy well. This is something else, that has not been detected in any of his previous examinations."

"Then...something happened to cause it?" said Aizen, "Could it have been when he was fighting at the dimension wall the other day?"

The healer shook his head and sighed.

"There is no way to know," he said, glancing down at Byakuya's medical file, "But more important than knowing why, right now, we need to figure out how to counteract it...or to delay it to give us more time to find a cure."

"Would it help for me to construct a new body for him. I am able to do that, if necessary. I can even provide the reiatsu chamber inside for our baby."

"I know that you can," acknowledged the healer, and I have already tested that theory. But, unfortunately, it is not his body, but his reiatsu that is the problem. Where before, you were able to capture his reiatsu from Senbonzakura and construct him a new body, doing so, in this case would accomplish nothing."

Aizen forced down the sudden memory of the loss of their first child.

"Would it save him if we ended his pregnancy?" he asked softly.

"No," the healer responded, "As I said, it is the deterioration and leaking away of his reiatsu that is weakening him. Unless that is addressed, then Kuchiki Byakuya will eventually die."

"That man cannot die," said the king, his eyes glittering and deadly, "I will not allow it."

"We can slow the deterioration," said the healer, "and we may keep him stable long enough to deliver the child, but unless a cure is found, there is no stopping this."

Then, you set the healers on the task of keeping him stable, while you and every knowledgeable healer and scientist in the three worlds attend to finding a way to save them! I am not going to have brought him back from death, only to lose him like this!"

"I have an expert team assigned to his care, Aizen-sama. And an unparalleled research team. We will find a cure for him."

"Very well," the king said, turning away, "I will leave you to your efforts."

"There is one more thing," said the healer.

Aizen turned back and met his eyes more calmly.

"Do you prefer to tell him, or would you like our counselors to do so?"

Aizen's lips tightened and his eyes closed for a moment.

"Do not tell him."

"What?" queried the healer, his eyes widening, "But...?"

"He is not going to die," Aizen said, "so there is no reason to burden him with this. You will continue his course of treatment and offer him only reassurance and encouragement. Anyone who breathes a word of this to him will be dead before he finishes speaking."

"Y-yes, my lord," said the healer, paling as Aizen's reiatsu swelled threateningly.

"Will he wake soon?" Aizen asked, his reiatsu calming somewhat to allow the healer to speak more comfortably.

"Yes, Aizen-sama. We have stabilized him for now."

"Then, I will return to him. Keep me informed of your progress."

"I will, my lord."

Aizen left the healer's office and walked slowly through the healing center, fury burning inside at the situation.

_How ironic to have consumed time worrying about his spirited nature undoing him. In the end, my own inability to change the course of his fate will bring about the end I was striving to avoid. Mountains rise and fall at my command. Worlds begin and end with me. But this one thing I most treasure is not subject to my control. How like you, to undo me this way, my Byakuya! Well, you may be subject to the hand of fate, but fate will bow down at my feet before the end of this. If not by knowledge and treatment, then by sheer force of will, will we defeat this threat and remain bound together. We did not suffer and fight as we did to lose each other now. And whatever it takes, I will not let go of you...whatever steps I must take._

He found himself, suddenly, standing outside of the noble's hospital room. Inside his friends gathered around him, holding his hand as he lay in what looked to be contented sleep. At his arrival, they rose and whispered their goodbyes to him, then, one-by-one, filed past Aizen. Renji stopped in front of him, his hard, red-brown eyes meeting Aizen's squarely.

"What did you learn?" he asked, glancing back at the sleeping man in the room.

"I learned that the way will be difficult," Aizen said quietly, "You and the others will remain here to offer Byakuya the encouragement he needs to get well...and you will not say or do anything that will burden him with doubt."

Renji's eyes narrowed as understanding fell over him. He said nothing more, but nodded briefly.

"Byakuya will have our support, of course," he said, turning away, "And I know that you will stop at nothing to see him well again. Failure is not in your nature, Aizen."

The king allowed himself a smirk at the words. He watched as Renji left the room, then moved to Byakuya's side and sat down. He slipped a hand into the noble's, and was pleased to see him stir and open his eyes. He blinked in confusion, then realized where he was, and what must have happened.

"The baby?" he queried urgently.

"No," said Aizen, "Just a reiatsu imbalance. They have treated you for that. Just...be aware that these imbalances will happen with greater frequency as you near delivery. The healers will infuse your body daily to manage the condition, but you must eat well, walk in the gardens and get plenty of rest. You and our child will be fine. You have my word, Byakuya."

The noble smiled and sat up slowly, lowering a hand to rub the pronounced swelling on his abdomen.

"Women make this look so easy," Byakuya said, shaking his head, "But, as I learned with Hisana, there is much that can make things difficult."

"Nonsense," said Aizen, smiling easily, "This is nothing we cannot manage."

"Unfortunately, it is out of my range of expertise," mused the noble, "I cannot engage it using strategy or power, as in battle. My own body undoes me."

"No. Your body is strong, Byakuya. You and our baby will be fine. Just be certain to follow the healer's recommendations to the letter, to ensure things go as they should."

Byakuya let out a soft breath and leaned against the king's shoulder as Aizen's hand caressed the noble's round belly.

"You are right, of course, Sousuke."

The two exchanged several slow, deep kisses, then Byakuya pulled away.

"Is something wrong?" asked Aizen.

"No," said the noble, "It is just that I sensed that Rukia and the others were here recently. I really should spend some time with them, while they are here."

"There is plenty of time for that," said Aizen, "They have all been assigned to remain here, to assist with palace defenses until our baby is born and you will be able to return to duty."

"Ah," Byakuya sighed, "That is a relief. If I cannot attend to that, myself, there is no better man than Renji to address it."

Aizen's eyes narrowed and his reiatsu fluttered in annoyance.

"As you will...but I do not see why you give that man so much credit. He may be powerful, but he lacks your finesse. He always has."

Byakuya loosed a soft, charming laugh that was almost melting. Aizen moved suddenly, lifting the noble out of the hospital bed and holding him close.

"What are you doing?" Byakuya asked, smiling at him.

"I am getting you out of this drab, boring place and back to our bedroom, where you belong."

"Hmmm," said the noble, smirking, "Perhaps you just want to see me naked."

Aizen chuckled warmly and narrowed his eyes.

"Guilty, as charged, I'm afraid," he answered, meeting the noble for another sweet kiss before flash stepping away with him.

Neither felt the eyes that looked through Byakuya's, nor heard the soft laugh the hollow witch emitted as her fingers stroked the charm that had begun to bleed the noble's life away.

_Enjoy him while you can, King Aizen._

_You are going to lose him._

_You are going to lose everything..._


	7. White Lies

**Chapter 7: White Lies**

**(For Sariniste and Geecee, :) Sorry to keep you waiting so long. Compensation lies ahead! Love Spunky)**

Aizen Sousuke gazed quietly at his mate's deceptively tranquil sleeping face. It seemed odd to him that a man who was dying could look so incredibly beautiful and untroubled. The moon cast a soft light across their bed, making Byakuya's lovely, naked body glow as he drew and released soft, calm breaths and nuzzled closer to his husband's resting form. He slipped his fingers into the silken, sakura scented hair, feeling an unfamiliar ache inside as he recalled Byakuya's recent melancholy over his brief withdrawal from their bed and association.

_That he thought, for even a moment that my love for him had faded..._

_But that is over. And whatever happens, Byakuya will know no moment that my love does not reach out to him. He will know only peace and contentment._

He forced away the healer's words and focused on his own determination.

_You will not leave me, my love. I will not let you go. We will find our way through this, Byakuya._

He held Byakuya close, lightly kissing his forehead and stroking his hair and back as he slept. He felt the soft stirrings of life in the noble's swollen belly, that binding of their hearts in the greatest expression of their love. He rubbed the baby bump and smiled as the reiatsu pulsed and throbbed delightedly beneath Byakuya's porcelain skin. As morning came without Aizen's eyes having closed, Byakuya stirred in his arms.

"How long have you been watching me?" asked the noble, opening one curious gray eye to meet his royal mate's warm gaze.

"Hmmm," Aizen answered, nuzzling the noble's soft cheek and gently moving the hand that rested on Byakuya's abdomen in slow circles, "Somewhere between a few hours and all night."

"Are you that concerned I will lose consciousness again, or is it that you just can't take your eyes and hands off of me whenever I undress for you?"

"Mmmm, both, I think."

"Perhaps I should keep that in mind the next time we quarrel," Byakuya said, smirking.

He leaned over the noble, sinking into his mouth and closing his eyes, then pulled away and sat up.

"If you feel up to breakfast, then we could join your friends," Aizen suggested.

Byakuya made a sound of amusement.

"King Aizen sitting down to eat at the same table as Abarai Renji? Oh...I _must _be dying..."

"Do not say such things," Aizen said, pushing him back down and plundering his mouth again, hungrily, "I was attempting to indulge you by being sociable, even though some of your choices in friends are a bit...questionable."

"That, in and of itself, is suspect," noted Byakuya, lacing their fingers together, "I assure you, you needn't lower yourself. I will have breakfast with them, and you can go and see what trouble your council has caused while you were occupied with watching me sleep."

"Nonsense," said Aizen, "I have time for both."

"Are you worried I will swoon and Renji will be the one to catch me?" Byakuya said coyly.

"I am more concerned, I think, that the clumsy oaf would miss and let you collapse onto the floor. Better to be safe than sorry, ne?" Aizen said, climbing out of bed and starting towards the dressing area.

He paused at hearing no answer from the noble, and turned back towards the bed. His eyes narrowed at the lovely spectacle of Byakuya, kneeling on the bed, with his yukata opened and slipped down off of his slender shoulders, his creamy thighs parted and his pretty rounded belly and privates exposed, his hair tumbled and his wide, gray eyes still sleepy from dreaming.

"Oh," the king said, walking back to the bed, "were you trying to get my attention? You really _don't_ want to have breakfast with your friends, do you?"

"We will," said Byakuya, "but as king and consort, we shall just be fashionably late."

"Oh, no. I don't think so," said Aizen, "We will be right on time."

A word to his zanpakutou sent illusions of the two out of the room.

"We can eat after you compensate me for that little show you just put on for me."

"I don't know what you're talking about," said Byakuya, his eyes widening, "I was just sitting here..."

Aizen slipped out of his yukata and climbed back onto the bed. He moved in behind the noble, nuzzling the side of his throat, while reaching around him to explore his warm, blushing genitals. Byakuya closed his eyes, sighing and leaning back into his husband's embrace, feeling the swell of his arousal and moving his bottom to rub teasingly against him. As one of the king's hands continued to caress the noble's responsive privates, the other captured his chin and coaxed him into a long, deep over-the-shoulder kiss. Byakuya turned into his husband's arms, sinking his fingers into the other man's hair and moaning lightly as Aizen's mouth sucked languidly at his throat. He gazed down, admiring the king's closed eyes, passionately exploring hands and hungry expression as the monarch continued the loving assault on his slender body. He yielded easily to being brought down on his back, but caught his breath in surprise as Aizen positioned himself over his consort, then lowered himself to join with him in a way he rarely ever offered.

"S-sousuke?" Byakuya whispered uncertainly.

"What's wrong?" Aizen asked, "Am I not allowed to enjoy my consort in whatever way I choose? I _am_ king, ne?"

"Yes...of course," Byakuya agreed, "I was just surprised."

Aizen tightened around Byakuya's arousal, coaxing a passionate moan from the noble's lips. He braced himself on his hands, rising and falling on Byakuya's riled member, and smiling as the noble groaned with intense pleasure and moved with him, thrusting upward into Aizen's poised body. The monarch's breaths deepened and roughened as he neared climax. He forced himself down harder, deepening the delicious penetration until he struck the cluster of sensitive nerves inside the riled king, making his eyes close and his hands clench warningly.

"Byakuya," Aizen gasped and the noble released into him.

His own seed poured out onto Byakuya's pregnant belly, and Aizen fell on the area hungrily, savoring slowly, then kissing the noble's baby bump reverently. Byakuya's hands reached for him, pulling him up to the noble's insistent mouth, where Byakuya fed hungrily on the traces of Aizen's essence that remained on the king's lips and tongue. The noble's slender hand found Aizen's spent length and caressed it as they continued to kiss. Within minutes, his member hardened again, and he coaxed his lover onto his hands and knees, entering him in slow, methodical thrusts as Byakuya's slender hands tore at the sheets and his impatient, hungry moans filled Aizen's ears, igniting his passions all over again. He gripped the noble's writhing hips, licking his lips at the sight of Byakuya's riled hair that fluttered wildly about his shoulders and back at the impact of each heavy thrust.

He felt a sudden shift in the reiatsu around his noble lover, a dark swell of something he couldn't readily identify.

"B-byakuya," he panted questioningly.

The man beneath him gave a feral snarl and ground harder against Aizen's body, seeking release. He tightened his hands on Byakuya's naked hips, thinking to stop him for a moment, but caught his breath in surprise as Byakuya's slender body reared back and laid itself against his chest, his hips still grinding down on Aizen's swollen member. Byakuya rested the back of his head on Aizen's shoulder as he moved, his sakura scented hair tickling the monarch's skin and teasing him into thrusting harder and faster. He could see that the noble's eyes were closed into slits, and still felt the odd touch of an unfamiliar reiatsu.

But before he could take any action, Byakuya's body quivered and tightened, and the noble loosed a sweet, passionate howl of completion. Aizen watched, rapt, as the noble surrendered to completion. He groaned languidly, pushing down with his hips to deepen Aizen's penetration into his body, as the king buried his face in Byakuya's lovely hair and filled his noble lover with his release.

Byakuya rested against Aizen's shoulder for several minutes, his chest heaving softly and his pale lips smiling. He collapsed onto the bed, giving a deeply sated moan as the king laid down next to him, curling his body around the noble's.

"Are you all right?" Aizen asked, "For a moment there, I wondered if you had been possessed by a spirit demon. You had quite a dangerous look about you and your reiatsu darkened..."

Byakuya sighed and snuggled closer to him.

"It was nothing," he assured Aizen, "just the less civilized person I am when I am loving you."

Aizen smirked.

"I am glad to see some liveliness return to you, my love. You have worried me with your melancholy lately."

"I am fine," Byakuya said, yawning, "but I think I will partake of some sleep for a bit."

"I wish that I could join you for that, however, there was some odd reiatsu flutter sensed near the dimension wall, and the royal guard is going to be giving their report on that to the king's council."

He was surprised when Byakuya merely yawned again and nodded.

"Go on, then. I am only going to be sleeping anyway."

Aizen laughed softly.

"You don't wish to see your friends at all?" he asked, "And you know, you do need to eat something."

"I will," Byakuya mumbled, "Just have Torio leave something at my bedside. I will eat and visit later."

"Very well," Aizen said, pulling back several strands of black hair to plant a kiss on Byakuya's pale throat, "It is good to see you taking my advice to heart and leaving serious matters to the guardsmen so that you can focus on our child."

Byakuya's lips curved into a smile.

"If that is what it takes to please you so that you will come to me more often, it is not such a task. I love you, Sousuke."

Aizen smiled and met him for several more slow kisses, then left the noble dozing peacefully.

Byakuya drifted off into a deep, contented sleep, his mind wandering through a hazy abyss. He inhaled and exhaled slowly, his eyes fluttering under the pale eyelids, and his body relaxed. Torio entered the room and left a tray of food at his bedside, then turned to leave. He paused and looked back, feeling the strangest sense of dark eyes watching him. But the noble still remained on the bed, sleeping soundly, so the attendant left the room, making a mental note to return regularly to check on his sleeping master.

Byakuya remained asleep for some time, unmoving except for the calm inhale and release of breath. But as he slept, a wicked, hissing voice invaded his mind. He tried to rise to the surface to better attend, but found himself detached from his body. His eyes opened and looked about dazedly. Finding himself alone, he rose and walked out onto the balcony, not even bothering to close his yukata. He flash stepped over the rail and down into the gardens, taking a small trail that wound through a thick cluster of trees. Amidst the trees, he sensed someone waiting for him, and angled towards the person's reiatsu. He reached a small clearing, where a ragged woman waited. She smiled widely at seeing him.

"Come, bearer," she whispered, "Come to me."

Byakuya's eyes looked into hers senselessly, and began to glow a soft red. The hollow witch laughed and touched his face lightly, making his legs collapse, so that she captured him and lowered him slowly to the ground. She laid the dazed noble on his side and placed her hand on his swollen belly.

"It won't be too long now," she told Byakuya, "A few weeks, perhaps? You will be uncomfortable, but it is all for a good purpose. When he returns, he will be very grateful. He will not hesitate to show us how much he appreciates our sacrifice."

She removed the pendant from her throat and touched it to his bare abdomen, watching the blackening of the reiatsu and the slow feeding on Byakuya's pure life force.

"Not too much at once. A little at a time, ne? We wouldn't want you to hollowfy too soon, Byakuya. Let the would-be king enjoy watching you fade away slowly..."

She felt an ache of hunger and longed to devour him herself, but made herself calm again, reminding herself of the one to whom she was devoted to returning to life. She completed the draining and contented herself with just a small taste of the sleeping noble. She savored his essence, her eyes glowing as she fought off the urge to take more. She startled, hearing a soft footstep on the trail, then disappeared in a flash as a boy stepped into the clearing.

"Kuchiki-sama?" Torio said softly, his youthful heart pounding at the odd feel of a retreating, malevolent reiatsu.

The witch watched the boy from behind a tree, longing to kill and devour him, but knowing better than to do so in the gardens near the castle. It would bring far too much attention...and they needed to avoid detection until it was time to take the consort and escape the spirit dimension. Instead, she left the area, moving well outside the palace and into a secluded area, before approaching a remote guard post and slaughtering the two guardsmen.

_Their reiatsu is not so sweet as his, but his must feed the coming lord._

Back in the king's gardens, Torio fell to his knees at Byakuya's side, calling his name and shaking him gently.

"Kuchiki-sama! Kuchiki-sama, please wake up! Kuchiki-sama!"

He looked about, ready to cry out for help, but before he could make another sound, Byakuya stirred and opened his eyes.

"Kuchiki-sama?" whispered Torio, white-faced as he spotted the noble's red, glowing eyes.

But a moment later, the red eyes faded back to their normal gray, and Torio sighed in relief.

_It must have been a trick of the light._

"Torio," Byakuya said sleepily.

"Yes, Kuchiki-sama," the attendant said, helping him sit up, "You scared me. I thought that...well...I didn't know what to think! You should stay here while I get a healer."

Byakuya shook his head briefly.

"I am fine," he said quietly, "It seems as though I have merely had another reiatsu fluctuation. But I am all right."

"Is everything okay, Byakuya?" asked a deep, familiar voice.

"Renji?" Byakuya said, squinting up at the redhead.

He realized suddenly that his yukata was open and Renji was blushing slightly and trying to pretend not to notice. Byakuya tied the yukata closed again and cleared his throat softly.

"Why did you come here, Renji?" he asked calmly.

"I sensed some kind of weird reiatsu in this area and came to check it out. Did something happen?"

Byakuya shook his head.

"I merely had a reiatsu fall off and laid down to rest for a moment. But I seem to have frightened my attendant."

Renji moved closer and scanned his reiatsu, then looked into his eyes with concern.

"Your reiatsu is low. We should get you back to the palace and have a healer give you another infusion."

"Nonsense," said the noble, shaking his head, "I can certainly walk as far as the palace."

"Not to worry," said Renji, sweeping Byakuya up into his arms, "I'll have you back home in a flash, Taichou."

"Abarai, put me _down_ at once!" snapped the noble, "What if Sousuke...?"

"What if he does?" said Renji, flippantly, "I'm sure he wouldn't want you stressing yourself out, so just be quiet and hang on."

Byakuya frowned, but looped his arms around Renji's neck as the redhead carried him in flash steps back to the castle, then up onto the balcony outside the noble's bedroom. He stepped inside, smiling down at the flustered noble.

"See, got you here fast and in one piece...and you're jealous husband will never have a clue what we were up to!" joked the redhead.

"Abarai..." Byakuya said, trying not to smile.

"Abarai taichou," said Aizen, looking up from where he stood next to the bed and glaring at Renji, "I would very much appreciate it if you would release my consort and return to your duties."

Renji frowned.

"I _was_ seeing to my duties," he said, setting Byakuya back on his feet, "Taichou was walking and he had a reiatsu fall off. I figured you wouldn't want him stressing himself, so I brought him back."

"Hmmm, next time, do attempt to do so minus the scandalous frivolity. Now, if you will excuse us."

"Huh...sure, no problem. See you, Byakuya."

Byakuya met his eyes and nodded briefly, then watched as Renji and Torio left the room.

"My apologies," Byakuya said, lowering his eyes, "Renji is too outspoken."

"And annoyingly clingy. I think I regret asking him to stay."

Byakuya's lips curved upward.

"I thought it was a lovely gesture, Sousuke. I know you are not fond of him..."

"You can say that again..."

"But that you thought so much of my comfort and contentedness makes me fall that much more in love with you."

Aizen gave an annoyed sigh and narrowed his eyes.

"I bend over backwards for you sometimes," he complained, lying down in their bed and pulling the noble into his arms, "Luckily for you, I find your presence in my bed more than just compensation."

"Luckily for me," Byakuya said, smiling and nuzzling warmly beneath his husband's chin.

"Your reiatsu is low," Aizen commented, "You need another infusion."

"I'll summon the healer," Byakuya said, starting to sit up.

He was quickly pulled down again and pinned by his husband's bare body. He looked up at Aizen questioningly.

"I will handle the infusion myself. Too many others have had their hands on you today, I think."


	8. Transcendent Love

**Chapter 8: Transcendent Love**

**(Sorry for the wait on this one. I'd originally planned to release it during Aizenweek, but couldn't get it done in time. Thanks so much to sweet reviewers Common Muggle (There is a lot of love between these two...enough to make Aizen reckless when faced with losing his consort), Bloop (Be careful what you wish for...Spunky likes granting wishes, even rather evil ones! XD), Iloveaizenandbyakuya (Okay! More Aizen/Bya updates will be coming with shorter wait times...Spunky haz planz!), Anelir-sensei (That witch is going to have her hands full with Bya...he won't be a docile little hollow, that's for darned sure!), BunnyHopster26 (Spunky has a promise that you will see in this story your dream come true...a very slutty hollow Bya vamping his husband whilst getting ready to do fatal damage...), Rosydigzzz23 (Here's that update, and it's red hot! More will follow soon!), Matrix (You are most welcome! And more is on the way.) and Sariniste (I like there to be some comic friction between Aizen and Renji, seeing Sousuke would love to just make him disappear, but tolerates him for Bya's sake!) Enjoy the chapter everyone! Love, Spunky)**

Byakuya stood quietly as Torio dressed him, saying nothing and only smiling at the hidden levity in his spouse gifting him with yet another enchanting kimono. He closed his eyes while the attendant brushed out his lovely, raven black hair, making it shine and giving it a soft, silken feel that matched the softness of the ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu that was wrapped around his graceful, white throat. Torio added the kenseiken and a new pair of fingerless gloves, made to match the kimono, then stood back and gazed at the noble for a moment before making a final adjustment to the top of the kimono.

"You look wonderful, Kuchiki-sama," said the attendant, "Aizen-sama won't be able to take his eyes off of you for a moment tonight."

Byakuya yielded to the effects of his advanced pregnancy and gifted Torio with a peaceful smile.

"Arigato, Torio," he said softly.

The door to the king's suite opened and Aizen entered the room. Torio stepped away from Byakuya and left the room as the king's gaze came to rest on his lovely consort. Byakuya's dark, tranquil eyes looked back at him with unusually candid affection, studying the king's white kimono and golden adornments, his neatly brushed hair and the slender wisp that snaked down his forehead, between his commanding brown eyes. His lips smiled genuinely, having lost their usual gentle smirk upon taking in the enticing spectacle of his handsomely turned out and very pregnant mate.

"You know," said Aizen, "If you continue to feast on me with your eyes that way, we will never make it out of this bedroom to enjoy the evening's frivolities. And it being the anniversary of the day you freed me from the prison, I would like to find several ways to express my gratitude."

"How very charming of you, Sousuke," Byakuya said, "And thank you, by the way. This kimono is the loveliest yet. The design is simple, yet quite elegant. And on top of that, it includes my favorite..."

"Sakura blossoms," they said, together.

Aizen smiled warmly and bent slightly to kiss his beautiful mate. He had even more to smile about as a sweet blush rose on his consort's pale skin. He laughed softly.

"I am surprised, watashi no koi, that you still blush after such an innocent exchange. I think you will agree that we engage in far more blush inducing pursuits on a nearly nightly basis. It is good that we share a deep hunger for such contact with each other. I think that it bodes well for the future, ne?"

Byakuya blushed more deeply and nodded.

"Are you ready to go, then?"

"I am ready."

They left through the balcony doors, flash stepping down into the moonlit gardens and along the trail that was lined with blooming sakura trees. Falling petals danced in the air, giving the place the feel of a snow globe, and the gentle moonlight touched the fluttering surfaces, making them glow.

Byakuya smiled as one of his husband's arms wrapped around him and Aizen's cheek brushed lightly against his. The warmth between them was more than enough to ward off the light chill in the night air. They breathed in the sweet evening scents and listened to the crunching sound of their feet on the sandy path. The trail opened up and led them into the clearing where the warm, soothing waters of the king's waterfall rained gently down into the large healing pool. Byakuya's smile widened as he noticed the trays bearing fruit, cheese and dried meats, several sweet desserts and sparkling fruit juice.

"You know, you could have had champagne, Sousuke," he commented, "You needn't hold back just because I cannot indulge."

"Ah," he said, shaking his head gently, "but I wouldn't want to make you get drunk on our kisses. And besides, I find you quite intoxicating enough. My healer said that the reiatsu changes of pregnancy would make you more alluring, but I find myself somewhat lightheaded merely looking at you lately, and downright dizzy when your lovely scent drifts across my senses."

Byakuya turned in his arms and brought his lips close to Aizen's.

"Then, by all means, relieve the tension of that, my lord. I am more than willing to sate your hunger for me."

The king's tongue traced his lips slowly, then pushed unhurriedly into his mouth, where he indulged in a deep, penetrating exploration. One arm slid warmly around Byakuya's body, holding him against Aizen and the other hand's fingers sank into his hair, stroking it lightly as they kissed, parted for a breath and fell to kissing again. They undressed and stepped down into the warm, healing waters of the pool and reclined in the bathing area. Aizen took a ripe strawberry and dipped it in warm chocolate, then placed it in Byakuya's mouth. The noble smiled around the berry as the king's mouth met his, and they shared the tart and sweet treasure. as well as several more intense kisses. They managed several more soft strawberries, then moved out to the waterfall and knelt in the water just behind it, enjoying the light spray of water on their faces and shoulders as their kisses deepened and grew more hungry, and their hands began to explore each other more provocatively.

Byakuya's eyelids fluttered, and his eyes closed as Aizen laid him back in the water and ravished the pale, sweet skin of his throat. His fingers continued to toy with the long strands of the noble's fine hair as it swirled about, just beneath the surface of the water, and his other hand played over the noble's chest, teasing a pretty, pink nipple before descending on the other with his mouth.

Byakuya's fingers dug into the tanned flesh of Aizen's muscular shoulders and his legs wrapped around the king's wet torso. Aizen's mouth recaptured his aggressively as Byakuya's hands slid down the king's back and wrapped around his thrusting bottom. Byakuya moaned into his mouth in a manner so wanton that it teased the king into an even more spirited bout of deep, penetrating kisses.

Byakuya breathed in the wonderful scents of the falling water and sweet flowers that blended beautifully with the masculine scent of his lover and left him feeling weak all over. But he realized a moment later, that the feeling of slight dizziness was increasing and beginning to take over. He groaned languidly as Aizen positioned himself between the noble's creamy thighs and entered him in a series of warm, measured thrusts. But as their joining continued, his head spun oddly and he began to feel an odd loss of control inside.

Aizen plunged into the noble's reclined body, closing his eyes and sucking on Byakuya's responsive tongue while his hips moved, hard and fast, bringing both men quickly to the verge of completion, then holding them tantalizingly on the edges of bliss. But as he prepared to send them both over, he sensed a sudden change in his lover's reiatsu. He opened his eyes and looked down at Byakuya, then made a sound of surprise and pulled free of him.

Byakuya looked up at him through lovely gray eyes that had gone red-centered, and opened his mouth in a more feral demand for continued pleasure from his royal mate.

"Byakuya!"

Aizen gasped, gripping his lover's face and staring down at him in disbelief. The reiatsu rose dangerously around the two, and small wisps of forming hollow bone wavered and danced in the air, gathering to form the beginnings of a mask.

Heedless of their lack of clothing, Aizen dragged his husband out of the healing pool and flash stepped to the infirmary, issuing sharp orders to his healer as he laid Byakuya on an examination table then grabbed a white yukata to wrap around himself.

"How did this happen?" the healer asked quickly, leaning over the noble and swiftly setting him in strong restraints.

"We were becoming intimate and his reiatsu seemed to shift strangely. Then, the encroachment began."

Byakuya's reiatsu flared powerfully and he began to thrash about, pulling angrily at the restraints and loosing strange, feral cries that echoed through the infirmary.

"Can you stop it? Can you stabilize him?" Aizen demanded.

"Yes," said the healer, sending a flow of balancing power into the struggling shinigami's body, "I can in the short term. But you must understand, sire. This is the beginning of the end. We just can't isolate why this is happening to him. We can find nothing that explains his continuing corruption and loss of reiatsu. He is being drained to the point of becoming a hollow. And although we can slow the process, we have not yet found any way to reverse it. I am sorry, my lord. We can stave it off, but in the end, we just can't stop it. Your consort is going to become hollowfied...and if it happens before he has this child, then the child will be a hollow as well."

Aizen's body shivered with rage as he glared at the healer, wanting to kill him for his words, but forcing his anger down, knowing that nothing was to be gained from indulging in that violence. He watched wordlessly then, as the healer's reiatsu flowed into the restrained man, causing the forming bone to quiver furiously, then melt away. Byakuya writhed within his bonds, still loosing echoing howls and struggling until blood flashed on the pretty, white skin of his wrists. He groaned uncomfortably as the healer's power began to overtake the swelling hollow power inside him, and the encroachment ground to a halt. The small beginnings of the mask cracked, then shattered and fell away, and slowly, Byakuya's reiatsu calmed and began to return to normal. He ceased his struggling and laid, shivering and panting within the restraints, calling his lover's name more softly.

"S-sousuke?"

Aizen was back at his side at once.

"Sousuke, what happened?" Byakuya whispered brokenly, swallowing hard and he registered the haunted look on Aizen's face.

"We do not know, exactly," the king explained, "What we do know is that your reiatsu is draining more each time you have one of these episodes. And this time, you began to hollowfy."

He paused for a moment, searching for words. But Byakuya met his gaze with weary acknowledgement.

"I have known for time that you were not telling me everything," the noble said softly, "I simply did not voice my thoughts because there was no need for me to do so...and there was nothing to be gained by it. I understand where this is going, Sousuke."

The two men went silent, and Aizen sat down and caught a slender hand in his.

"Byakuya," Aizen said after a few minutes, "You must not think that this is the way things will end. The healer is still trying to find answers. You must work with him as he makes his efforts to help you."

"I will," the noble assured him.

Their eyes strayed down to Byakuya's swollen abdomen, then met again, meaningfully.

"I won't let this child be born a hollow," Byakuya said quietly, "I will fight this all of the way."

"I know you will," answered the king, squeezing his hand, "But for now, you must rest and allow the healer to strengthen your reiatsu. I will stay with you until he is done, then I will take you back to our room."

"Thank you, Sousuke," Byakuya responded, giving the king a look of gratitude.

Byakuya closed his eyes and focused on the warm feel of Aizen's hand in his, the gentle flow of healing reiatsu into his body, and the calm lassitude that was overtaking him. Aizen's eyes strayed to meet the healer's, and a soft jolt of anxiety passed through him at what he found there. But he forced his concerns away and focused all of his energy on soothing his weakening lover. He waited quietly, then, until Byakuya's reiatsu had stabilized, and the healer gave him tired, resigned nod.

"You and the others are to expend every effort in finding an answer," Aizen commanded him, "You are not to let this man die."

"I understand, my lord," the healer replied, bowing, We will not cease our efforts until we have found a way."

Aizen didn't answer, but only nodded briefly as he lifted Byakuya's resting body into his arms and carried him back to the royal suite. He laid the noble in their bed and made him comfortable, then slid wearily into the bed, beside him and held Byakuya close as his consort slept.

"There is an answer, watashi no koi," he whispered, kissing his sleeping mate's lips, "And we will find that answer and stop this. You are going to get well, and we are going to have a healthy baby, Byakuya. We simply won't allow for any other outcome."

He rested his face against Byakuya's, looking out the garden doors and up at the full moon. He hardly dared to close his eyes and so simply rested there with the noble held close. He couldn't think of any more words to say, so he laid in silence, gazing at the glow of the moonlight on Byakuya's pale cheek and trying to forget how it had looked as the bony mask had begun to form. Several hours passed before he could accept that the noble was truly stabilized, and he fell into a troubled sleep.

Outside of the room, the hollow witch stood in the cover of the trees, her eyes on the open balcony doors above her. Her lips smiled wickedly, and her hand strayed to the pendant at her throat. She didn't have to be in the room to know that the mere fact of her fingers stroking the item made Byakuya shift uncomfortably in his sleep.

_Yes, you are very sensitive to the slightest touch now. You are overwhelmed by its power. You know now that there is no stopping it, though you won't admit it to yourself. You sense your fate slowly cornering you, and you suffer painful doubts, don't you? Your wretched king senses it too, but it is already too late for him to do anything. You have fallen deeply under my power, Aizen Byakuya. You are mine now to use as I will. And I will use you to rip that smug look from Aizen's face...to make him humble himself...to make him desperate. Because a desperate man will do anything to save the ones he loves. He will act recklessly. He will be easy to lure in. And then, when he reaches you, I will give him a moment to suffer the shock of seeing you fully transformed, then we will kill him. The true king will be deeply grateful. He will reward us handsomely, Byakuya...or at least, he will reward me._

"But it is time now, I think," the witch whispered, watching the room carefully, "We just need a distraction..."

She bowed her head and let her reiatsu swell around her, then sent it spinning away into the darkness. Her smile returned as the sound of hollows rose up all around the palace, and the alarms began to shriek. Within the room she watched, the king and consort came awake. Byakuya looked into his husband's eyes and he touched the king's face lightly.

"Go," he said softly, "I will remain here with Torio and our guards. I will not act in any way to make things worse, Sousuke. You have my word."

Aizen looked back at him as the balcony doors closed, and protective reiatsu flared all around them.

"Very well," Aizen said quietly, "I will see to this and return swiftly. Stay here and try to rest, now."

"Be careful, Sousuke," the noble whispered, watching his mate disappear out the door.

He sat in their bed, listening to the palace alarms wail, and the sounds of fighting in the distance. He swallowed hard and shivered as he remembered the feeling of hollow bone touching his cheek.

_I mustn't think that way. It won't end like that._

He was distracted out of his thoughts by an odd whisper that seemed to break through everything around him.

_Come to me, Bearer!_

He glanced at Torio, who gave him a tentative smile, but he could see that the youth was shaking softly. He didn't seem to have heard the whispering voice.

_Come to me!_

Byakuya caught his breath in surprise as his body seemed to respond instantly, moving of its own accord and climbing out of the bed.

"Byakuya-sama!" cried Torio, flash stepping to him, "You should not be..."

The attendant's words ended in a terrified scream as Senbonzakura formed in Byakuya's hand, and the slender weapon slowly turned black. He backed away, calling to the guards, as Byakuya stepped forward and slashed at him, dropping Torio onto the floor in a splash of blood.

Guards ran into the room, and one dragged Torio out of harm's way as the others tried to surround Byakuya. The noble's blackened sword slashed again, and the guards began to fall, one by one. The guard who had rescued Torio, screamed for help, and feet pounded in the hallway, outside of the king's suite.

Byakuya continued towards the balcony doors, cutting down the guards as they blocked his path, pleading for him to stop. Renji burst into the room, and flash stepped towards him.

"Byakuya!" he cried, "Byakuya, stop!"

The noble's head turned, and Renji's blood froze at the sight of the red-centered eyes and cruel expression.

"Bakudo number 63!" Renji cried, "Rikoujoukorou!"

Byakuya glared down at his torso as the six rod prison of light snapped into place around him. His eyes flashed bright red and he loosed a piercing screech as Renji moved closer to him and lowered his weapon.

"It's okay," he said, trying to sound calm, although his body shook with tension, "We have you now. You can't go anywhere with that thing around you, so..."

Renji broke off as Byakuya shrieked again and the six rod prison of light exploded.

"What the hell?" Renji gasped, bringing his sword up as Byakuya looked into his eyes and fired a cero at him at point blank range. Renji's kido shielded him from the full force of the blast, but he was thrown back through the entry doors, and the guards around Byakuya were tossed like rag dolls in all directions.

"Byakuya!" cried Renji, struggling to his feet.

Byakuya turned to face the heavily shielded balcony doors. A moment later, another cero loosed itself from Byakuya's hand, and the doors were blown off their hinges. The noble flash stepped onto the balcony rail, as Renji ran back into the room. He flash stepped down into the gardens, and headed for the witch, who stood, watching and cackling.

Aizen appeared on the balcony as Byakuya reached the witch, and calmly accepted an offered hand. The witch's other hand slashed at the sky, opening a garganta. She entered it quickly, leading Byakuya inside, and she left it open for one heart-stopping moment, letting the two lovers lock eyes one more time.

"He belongs to the true king!" she screeched at Aizen as he closed in on them.

She let him get tantalizingly close, then she snapped the garganta shut between them.

"Byakuya!" Aizen roared, the reiatsu swelling outward from his body and shaking the palace and grounds, "BYAKUYA!"


	9. Kingmaking

**Chapter 9: Kingmaking**

The hollow witch cackled as the garganta snapped shut, her fingers teasing the pendant she wore. Byakuya flinched uncomfortably, his red-centered eyes glaring as it struck him that he could feel when she caressed the artifact. He could feel it, and it was painful to him. So, as she was distracted, hurling insults at the king they had left behind, he reached out and grabbed the pendant, breaking the slender cord that hung around her neck and tearing the necklace free.

"What are you DOING, you roach!" she screamed, as Byakuya clenched the pendant and turned to run, "Come back here, you..."

She howled obscenities as a cero took her off of her feet and slammed her roughly against the rock wall of the cavern. And while she struggled to get to her feet, the partially hollowfied consort's sonido engaged, and he tore down the corridor, holding the witch's pendant tightly. Even in his fevered, half-controlled state, it registered with Byakuya that the woman was somehow controlling him, and that her control over him was connected to the blood red pendant. He might have had an instinct to kill her, but his primary concern was getting away, now that he had deprived her of the thing that controlled him. After that, he could pause to look at the thing and try to figure out how it was connected to him. He thought about simply crushing the thing, but remembered the pain he had felt when the witch had only caressed it. His mind might be dazed by what she had done to him, but he was aware enough to conclude that his connection to the item was complicated.

But before he could deal with the complication, he had to get back home. The garganta had closed, but he possessed on his body, a sigil that would open the doors to the spirit dimension. It was only a matter of gaining enough distance from the witch and invoking the power. He moved faster, pleased that even partially transformed, his sonido was as fast as his flash step had been. He passed through the icy twists and turns, deviating frequently to confuse the witch, then sliding to a halt and trying to make his breathing silent so that he could listen.

Everything around him seemed calm and still. Byakuya's blood burned furiously beneath his skin and his reiatsu sparked fitfully. He sensed that the pendant was still affecting him, and lifted it to look more closely at it.

_She is going to find me if I remain!_

He gathered himself, then, and focused on the King's Sigil, that Aizen had, himself, placed on the back of one slender, pale hand. But even as he focused his reiatsu into the marking, it began to pulsate strangely, then, before his stunned eyes, it faded from view.

"What?" he hissed, his eyes widening.

But it did, he thought, make sense to protect the spirit dimension against a transcendent being turned into...a hollow? A spirit demon? The witch had used the word 'bearer,' and had said that he belonged to the 'true king.' Byakuya strained his feverish mind, fighting the chaotic disturbance that the hollow reiatsu was causing.

_What could she be doing?_

_Blood and reiatsu...a blood red pendant that controls me._

He heard approaching footsteps and was surprised at how the hollow in him immediately forced him into harried sonido, fleeing recklessly, and in a way his more orderly mind knew was dangerous. With an effort, he made himself stop. He slowed to a walk and looked for an exit. He was lost within the underground cavern now. He had thought that direction didn't matter in fleeing the witch, because as soon as he invoked the sigil, wherever he was, it would take him immediately home. But with the sigil gone and having lost himself within the cavern, Byakuya began to feel the pull of the hollow within him, making his heart beat too fast, clouding his mind with unnatural fear and causing the emotion to swell around him.

And with the emotional hurricane that began to erupt, the encroachment began anew. Wisps of white bone formed in the air and echoing whispers sounded all around him.

"No..." he gasped, trying to calm his reiatsu, to soothe his emotions.

_Sousuke..._

_Sousuke, what do I do?_

He heard footsteps again, but resisted the urge to flee. Instead, he curled into an alcove, forcing his reiatsu to calm and closing his hand around the pendant, hiding its reiatsu as well.

"Byakuya," the witch's voice said calmly, "Come to me."

He slid down the wall, his breath frozen in his lungs, and not daring to move.

"Understand that if you do not, you and your child are going to die. There is no one who can save you...no one but the king. The king is the only one who can heal you...but first you must come to me so that we can call him forth."

_She is lying. She has to be. There has to be a way to stop this..._

"Byakuya, you think that you have regained control by stealing that pendant. But I promise you that it isn't something that anyone else can unravel. And the longer you resist returning to me, the more the encroachment will catch up with you. I know you do not want to die. And you want to give birth to that precious child in your belly. I can make those things happen. Just come out. Come to me and let me help you...before all is lost."

Byakuya bit at his lips, shivering as she passed within inches of him, then continued down the corridor, still talking. He waited breathlessly until her voice had faded, then, with the pendant still enclosed in his hand, he ran blindly, searching everywhere for an exit of some kind to some safe place. Finally, a doorway appeared ahead of him. He ran through without hesitation, and found himself falling. He righted himself just short of the ground and looked around.

_The sand and night sky would seem to say that this is Hueco Mundo, but...nothing looks familiar._

He shivered in the icy night air, looking around and sensing hollows in all directions. Not wanting to use his powers, he clung to the shadows and read the night sky to angle him towards the shinigami base he knew lay at the border between the hollow world and Soul Society.

_But I have no idea how far it is..._

And with each step, he noticed that the strength of the hollow reiatsu seemed to grow inside him.

_How do I stop it?_

He felt a swell of pain in his abdomen and looked around for a place to rest. A small cave provided a brief respite, and gave him a chance to study the witch's pendant more closely. He sensed right away that his reiatsu and blood had been used to make the item. But there was something else he sensed...something dark and horribly powerful.

_Wh-what is...that?_

The very closeness of the thing sent chills down his spine, and although he knew now that he should not try to destroy or abandon that pendant, he knew that it was at the center of what was happening to him, and it had something to do with the king the witch had mentioned to him.

_Byakuya..._

He jumped at the sound of his name being called, his heart in his throat and panting furiously as he regained his composure and realized that the voice had come from somewhere else.

He looked down at the pendant.

_Byakuya..._

"Is it coming from...?"

_Do not be afraid of me._

The pendant glowed softly and the pain he had been feeling eased.

_You see, I do not want to hurt you. I want to help you._

"Can you help me find my way back to the spirit dimension?" he asked softly, "Can you stop me from becoming a hollow?"

_I can do both._

"Who are you? I feel like I know your voice."

_You do know my voice. I have been speaking to you for some time. Calling to you, Byakuya._

"But who are you?" the consort asked more urgently, straining his mind to remember.

_Shh...you should rest._

_Sleep, Byakuya._

"Are you mad?" Byakuya gasped, standing, "There are hollows all around me! They will find me and devour me! I cannot sleep! I have to...!"

An odd weariness stole over him, lulling him as he fought to stay awake. Concern that the pendant was trying to lure him sent bolt of panic through him, making him come to his feet and sending him running from the shelter.

_Byakuya, trust me._

_Trust my power._

_Watch..._

Byakuya slid to a stop, his face going sheet white as the pendant flared a bright red and the reiatsu flared around it. Hollows appeared all around him, filling the skies and covering the desert on all sides.

"Kami, no!" the noble gasped, looking around, but finding all directions blocked.

He held his breath as the hollows stared at him, as though waiting.

_Do you want me to kill them all?_

"I just want to go back to the palace! I want Sousuke to come! Please, if you have the power, then..."

He broke off as the red light within the pendant pulsed again, and the hollows around him snarled and started to close in on him from all directions.

"What are you doing?"

_You belong to me now. Kneel down and I will stop them._

Byakuya turned one way, then the other, panting harshly and looking for any means of escape. The hollows crept towards him at an oddly casual pace, giving him plenty of time to think about what was going to happen if he didn't stop them. He slowed his breathing, closing his eyes for a moment, and trying to pull his scattered thoughts together.

_If I panic, all is lost. I must not panic. He and the witch want me alive. He is probably doing this so that she can find me. Yes, the hollow power and the power from this pendant act as a beacon. _

He opened his eyes and found that the hollows had nearly reached him. Hisses and wicked whispers surrounded him, and he could feel their fetid breath on his skin.

_Byakuya, do you want them to kill you? If not, then kneel down. Surrender. Surrender and I will destroy them all. Keep resisting me and you will die._

Byakuya loosed a shuddering breath and quieted his mind.

_Kill me then, _he thought calmly, _I will never give in to you!_

He was surprised to hear laughter, then he watched in shock as the sea of hollows around him exploded and faded away.

_You see? You see the power I wield. You cannot stand against me._

He felt weakness flood his body.

_Kneel down. Merely wait and she will come for you._

He ran though the desert, his mind screaming for Aizen, for Renji, for anyone but the witch he sensed closing in on him. He wanted to throw down the pendant, but knew if the witch possessed it, that she could overcome him. No, he _had_ to hold on to it, to fight the press of that voice and that other soul's will. He had to find a way into the Seireitei or into the living world. He couldn't let himself be taken.

But the power he employed to escape the witch, the fight to not let the soul in the pendant overcome him, and the weights of pregnancy and illness began to take their toll.

_Sousuke! Sousuke, for the love of all that's holy, hear me! Hear me! Help me, Sousuke_! his mind screamed.

He caught his breath as a light flashed in the distance.

_Sweet kami's grace! It's the shinigami base!_

He was on his feet in a moment and running, clenching the pendant in his closed hand and moving fast enough to singe his spirit centers. He felt the presence of the witch and the swell of anger rising up in the pendant as he closed in on the base. He had nearly reached the outer marker, when that chilling voice sounded coldly in his mind.

_You remember what I did to the hollows..._

Byakuya slid to a stop and stared in horror at the base in front of him.

"There are nearly a thousand shinigamis in that base," he gasped, "You would...?"

_I will kill them all in a heartbeat._

_Surrender, Byakuya._

_Surrender now._

Voices floated out from one of the guard posts.

"So, when is she due?"

"A week. I'll be going home in a few days to be there. It's our first. I can't wait to see..."

Tears burned in Byakuya's eyes and he placed a shaking hand on his swollen abdomen.

_Are you going to hurt my child?_

The silence in his mind was almost staggering.

_Are you going to...?_

A hand wrapped suddenly around the wrist of the hand that held the pendant, Byakuya's head turned, and he got a momentary glimpse of the witch as she struck him with a shock of stunning power. He dropped to his knees, gasping and reaching out in his mind one last desperate time.

_Sousuke..._

The witch tore the pendant from his hand, and the skies went even blacker than the most starless night. The voices of the shinigamis, the lights in front of him, everything faded away. He felt himself falling for what seemed to be an eternity, his mind spinning as the witch invoked the pendant's power and joined it with her own to overcome him.

_Byakuya? _Aizen's voice whispered in his mind, sounding far away, distorted, almost unreal.

"Sousuke!" he cried desperately, trying to surface.

Something struck his face forcefully and the witch's voice hissed a warning. He sensed a garganta opening, and was hauled to his feet and made to stumble through, and to another exit. They emerged far away from the shinigami base, but in a place that was all too familiar.

"This is kind of like coming home for you, ne?" cackled the witch, "Although, your visit here was none to pleasant, the way your lover let you be injured, blinded, made powerless...and, oh...didn't he _kill your child_, Byakuya?"

_He saved my life then and he will save us now._

The witch made a sound of annoyance and forced him down a long hallway, and into a lift. There was a hesitation, then he felt the lift descend for what seemed like an oddly long time.

"Las Noches," said the witch, was built upon the ruins of the Luisenbarn dynasty, but even that old tyrant had a predecessor here. Down in the depths, down beneath the very lowest level, there are the barren bones of that former dynasty, Byakuya. That is what we are here to rebuild."

She dragged him out of the lift and across an icy, empty room.

"You see the foundation stones, ne?" asked the witch, "That is almost all that is left of the original king of Hueco Mundo.

_Oh no! _the consort gasped inwardly, _But that was...!_

"I see you understand. You remember, don't you?"

_"Treacherous one," the king said in a low voice, "You have gone too far. To have slain the king and his beloved are unforgivable offenses, so Hajime and I have joined our power to defeat you."_

_Diablo attacked, but as he moved, the king's blade slashed at him and killed him in a single swing. The dark lord fell then at the king's feet and his body disintegrated. All that was left of Diablo were his amber and obsidian eyes. As the king watched, the eyes began to glow a wicked red and Diablo's voice sounded._

_"You may have killed me, but in dying I have laid a curse upon your heir. His soul has disappeared into the cycle of birth and rebirth. And when he lives again, he will revive me. He will inherit my hatred for you and will come for you. I will use him to cut you down and then take your place here in the spirit dimension."_

_The king watched as the glowing eyes disappeared, then turned and looked down at the lifeless body of Hajime. He gathered his dead lover into his arms and carried him back into the palace._

"But we destroyed Diablo!" Byakuya objected, "We destroyed his eyes! I yielded my life to give Sousuke the power, and he _destroyed_ Diablo!"

"Yes," said the witch, smiling, "But you see, Byakuya, Diablo wasn't as stupid as you and your foolish _Sousuke_ are! Before he fought the old king, he left me with a gift. You see, I was the hollow king's consort all of those years ago! So it doesn't matter that the old king and the new king killed him. Diablo can still be raised, and you are going to help me raise him!"

"How?" asked the noble, "How can he be raised when his eyes were destroyed with him?"

"I must admit that your Sousuke did a better job of slaughtering him, but you see, it isn't a part of that incarnation of Diablo that will be revived. I have a piece of my former husband's heart."

Byakuya froze.

_That voice!_

"Yes...that is him, waiting to be reborn. I placed the piece of Diablo's heart in the pendant with your blood and reiatsu. I have brought you here, to the foundation of our old kingdom, and this is where we will revive him."

"How?" demanded Byakuya, "How will you revive him?"

The witch laughed.

"Tell me how!" the noble cried, his hand grabbing for the pendant.

Light flashed around him, sending him crashing to the ground. The witch bound him tightly with kido and then sat back, gazing at him through victorious eyes.

"Enough talk. Be quiet now. We have to wait."

"Why?"

"Shh...you will find out later."

He started to object, but felt a jolt of power cut through him, sending his mind spinning into blackness. But for just a moment in all of the darkness, he felt a familiar warmth.

_Sousuke..._

And this time, Aizen's voice reached him clearly.

_Byakuya, I need you to tell me where you are!_

Byakuya ached to tell him, but a feeling of warning rose up inside him.

_We have to wait,_ the witch had said.

It didn't take him long to figure out what the witch was waiting for.

_Byakuya, tell me where you are!_

It was too easy...far too easy.

_Byakuya!_

Tears burned in his eyes, but he did the only thing he could do to interfere with the witch's plans.

_No..._

_Byakuya!_

_No, Sousuke...this time you have to let us both go._


	10. Desires of a Falling Soul

**Chapter 10: Desires of a Falling Soul**

**(By request for 'Commentor' and others! Enjoy the chapter, all! Love, Spunky)**

_Byakuya, tell me where you are!_

_No, Sousuke...this time you have to let us both go._

Aizen Sousuke stiffened, his eyes blazing as Byakuya's thoughts reached him. And as much as he was a man of high intelligence and careful calculation, there was something about Byakuya that always undid him. From the moment the man had appeared in his cell in Central 46...from the moment he had taken that lovely, angel's body and made it his own, Aizen Sousuke could not accept that he would ever be parted from this man.

_Byakuya belongs to me...and wielding every power I have, defying every rule, I will keep him at my side until my time comes and we surrender to death together. I will not let death, nor anyone or anything claim him._

He was moving before he could stop himself, honing in on where Byakuya's riled reiatsu had been. Voices rose all around him in alarm, and the battle with the hollows continued to rage as he sought Byakuya's direction, then calmly opened a garganta.

"Your majesty!" cried Kuchiki Ginrei, "You cannot leave the spirit dimension without escort! You know that once you leave here, you are more vulnerable. Because those worlds cannot bear the weight of your released reiatsu, you will be forced to hold back or you will destroy those places!"

"I will destroy _everything_ in the heavens, on earth, in Soul Society, _even to the bowels of HELL itself _to bring my consort back. Remain here and defend the palace."

"There is no way in heaven or in hell that I am letting you leave here unescorted!" insisted Ginrei, "Only wait for a few hours for the conflict to die down and..."

He gasped as Aizen opened the garganta and stepped through.

"Your majesty, WAIT!" he cried.

His sharp eyes caught sight of several madly flash stepping forms that followed after the king, barely making it inside the doorway as it began to snap closed.

_Abarai Renji._

_Kurosaki Ichigo._

_Kuchiki Rukia._

_Grimmjow._

_Neliel._

"Not exactly the escort I was thinking of," the old shinigami sighed, shaking his head, "But they are the ones who worked together before to help my Byakuya complete his mission to restore Aizen to his proper place in the monarchy. Ah...perhaps there is yet hope for us..."

He glanced once more at the place where the garganta had been, then flash stepped away.

Within the underground cavern, Aizen felt the presence of the ones who followed in his wake and worked at how best to use them, now that they were there. His own power would have been overkill on its own, but he hadn't forgotten that anywhere outside of the spirit dimension, he could only apply a small fraction of his own power without destroying the worlds to which he acted as guardian. Yes, even that fraction of his power outstripped that of any other being, but he suspected that the hollow witch would not have made her move unless confident that she could bring forth the power it would take to defeat him in his reduced capacity. But although luring him out of the spirit dimension did equalize the playing field to some extent, he wondered exactly what power she was going to depend on to kill him.

_Obviously, she will involve Byakuya...and she will kill him at some point. But does she plan to invade his mind and force him to help her, thinking that I will not attack him, or that I will be distracted trying to protect him and the baby? There is a piece of this that I am not understanding..._

He thought harder.

_Byakuya was being affected by something we did not understand. Now, it is clear that this hollow witch was somehow causing his symptoms...the pain, the collapses, the flares and drainings of his reiatsu...almost as though causing the child inside him to begin to overcome his ability to carry the pregnancy to term without dying._

An icy feeling invaded him inside.

_I hope I am wrong in what I am thinking...that she could not be...no...She cannot be affecting the baby somehow! But it makes sense. The child's body has not yet formed. The baby remains as pure reiatsu in Byakuya's body. And that reiatsu carries royal power within it, and is also procreative. If she found a way to affect the development...to steal control of that..._

_Byakuya._

_This is why you do not want me to come to you._

_You feel the wickedness growing inside and stealing away the life that should be our child. And having once lost our child, you find the impending loss of this child unbearably painful. But the thought of her using your death and the death of our child to bring about a force she thinks will defeat me is more horrendous still. So, you act to control the scope of the damage. If I listened to you and simply remained in the spirit dimension, she might still conjure this power as she plans, but I would be well defended. Your thinking is strategically sound, as always, watashi no koi._

_But I have a better strategy._

_I will stop her._

_I will kill her._

_I will rescue both of you._

He slid to a stop and waited as Renji, Ichigo, Rukia Grimmjow and Nel reached him and stopped also. They gazed at each other in the chill darkness for a moment.

"Rukia, Nell," said Aizen, meeting the eyes of the female shinigamis, "I want you to go to Karakura Town and bring Orihime."

He capture Nel's hand and drew a small kido symbol on it, then met her eyes.

"This sigil will help you to find me, once you have acquired Orihime."

Renji, Ichigo and Grimmjow watched as the women left, then looked back at Aizen expectantly.

"The three of you will take on anything that threatens to delay or sidetrack me. I seek Byakuya. He is my singular focus. And rescuing him and returning him to the palace is my first priority. I will use my power as a last resort if I am cornered."

"Fine," said Renji, "We get that we are your muscle. Great. But tell me first what you think she's doing."

"I have not divined her exact plan," Aizen said shortly, "but the fact that Byakuya's reiatsu was being drained too forcefully to be restored, and that he was hollowfying when we last saw him are warning enough, ne? No more questions. Come with me and be ready to use your full power to bring down whatever crosses our path!"

"Great..." Ichigo muttered, "We're going in blind, deaf and dumb, but hey, it's okay. We all have bankai or gran rey cero, ne?"

"So which are you? Blind, deaf or dumb?" Grimmjow asked sarcastically, "cause last time we sparred, I think you were all three!"

"Will you shut up?" Ichigo snapped, "You..."

"Both of you shut up and stop flirting!" Renji said, frowning.

"Aww, poor Renji-san is sad because Bya-uke belongs to the king!" Grimmjow laughed under his breath, "Maybe if you fuck up badly enough, Aizen will die and you can have your Kuchiki-hime all to yourself, ne?"

"Shut your mouth!" hissed Renji, his reiatsu flaring, "Byakuya is my _friend_!"

"With benefits?" teased Grimmjow.

"Bastard," muttered Renji, moving to Aizen's far side, away from the other two.

"Man, that guy needs to get himself a boyfriend," commented Ichigo, "I know he likes Byakuya, but really...the guy's married to the king and having Aizen's baby. He's really got to face the facts and move on already."

"You wanna help him?" Grimmjow asked, smirking.

"What the hell? What are you talking about? You crazy?" Ichigo objected.

"We'll corner him and work a little of our erotic magic on him. You like tattoos, ne?"

"You're perverted..."

"So're you," Grimmjow chuckled, "You just don't know it yet. That's it, then. First chance we get, we're gonna corner and fuck that guy."

"Fuck you, you psychotic sex addicted pig!" huffed Ichigo, "I can't believe I let you fuck me!"

"Aww, you love me and you know it," said Grimmjow wrapping an arm around him, "Don't be pissed. I'm not saying I want to screw around on you. I'm just saying that we could have some fun and help your friend Renji at the same time."

"Huh," Ichigo grumbled unhappily, "I love it when you try to make perverted things sound reasonable...but you're full of shit, you know. You just want to try a three-way and you want me to go along with it..."

"Yeah, kinda," admitted the blue-haired shinigami, "but...honestly? I won't try it unless you agree to it. I'm a perverted, screwed up freak, but I'm loyal, Ichi."

"Shut up. you don't have to tell me that."

"I didn't want to make you cry, girlfriend."

"Fuck you."

"Later," Grimm said, stealing a kiss, "Sugar daddy's gotta go to work right now."

"Ugh...sometimes I really hate you," Ichigo said, rolling his eyes as they continued following Aizen through the dark cavern.

"Yeah," said Grimmjow, smirking, "Me too."

XXXXXXXXXX

The hollow witch leaned over Byakuya's restrained body, where it laid upon the underground foundation beneath Las Noches. She opened his clothing, baring the pale, lovely body of the consort and exposing the bump on his abdomen where the king's baby grew. She fixed her odd, red-golden eyes on his opened and glazed over gray ones, letting the tumbled strands of her black hair tickle his skin, sending shivers down his spine. He managed to keep his face calm...but both knew who had the upper hand.

"He is coming for you," the witch hissed in a whisper that echoed through the dark, icy chamber, "But you knew he would, ne? Despite the fact that he could just remain in the palace and let you die to protect his own life, your king foolishly risks himself for personal reasons...because he loves you. He could callously let you be taken from him and just choose another lovely body or a sea of them to line his bed and bear his children, but..._Aizen Sousuke has a weakness_!"

She touched his face gently, then extended a claw, making a small trail of blood down the line of his jaw as Byakuya stared into her eyes and held himself still.

"You are his weakness, dear," the witch went on, "And because of that, he has left the spirit dimension and will come here...here into the place that was _our_ kingdom! Diablo's and mine."

"What happened?" asked Byakuya suddenly, "Our histories record that Diablo attacked the king in the spirit dimension. However, it does not tell us why he took that step...beyond desiring the throne. Will you tell me why?"

The witch smiled and placed a hand on Byakuya's rounded belly.

"This is why," she whispered, closing her eyes.

"M-my baby?" Byakuya asked, frowning.

"No...but a royal heir of the past...one killed by that old king's wretched Kuchiki whore!"

"What?" Byakuya mouthed breathlessly, "Hajime?"

"Kuchiki Hajime came to our palace with a group of his majesty's men. They said they sought peace, but we didn't believe them. The old king knew that prophecy indicated an oncoming threat to him, so he made his moves carefully. Diablo felt that prophecy was on his side and he killed Hajime's escort. He sought to kill Hajime, then, but the king's consort fought back, and one of his attacks struck me."

The witch's claw dug slightly into the skin of Byakuya's belly, making him flinch. She caught herself and retracted the offending claw, then sighed and went on.

"I was with child and was not attacking anyone. I was merely watching in horror as that bastard attacked my husband. My child was killed, Byakuya. Our royal heir died. And to add to our pain, I was made barren by my injuries."

"Hajime only sought to defend himself, surely," said Byakuya, "His escort slain and backed into a corner as he was..."

The witch rewarded his words with a stinging slap that reddened the noble's pale cheek. The eyes that looked down into Byakuya's read deep pain that morphed into deadly rage.

"I was doing no harm to him and he took, not just my child, but my ability to make others! He deserved to die, and Diablo handed him the death he deserved when he went to the palace, though he paid with his own life after the king used the blade Tenrai Tezawari to bind his power to Hajime's and to destroy my husband! Bereft of king and heir, I fled deep into the cold desert and remained there, in exile...until the day you appeared, Byakuya."

"You...knew, then?"

"I foresaw it...when I joined with you to heal you. I saw Aizen becoming king and you at his side, and I longed for what I have so long been denied. I will now have vengeance. I will see that as Diablo again rises, the spirit king dies, and that we are reunited. And then, Byakuya, you will serve us on behalf of your wretched ancestor, Hajime. Given over into death and become a hollow, you will act as concubine, bearing the children I was denied when that arrogant noble killed my child and wounded me! The Kuchiki house will now serve the Hollow King, and you will bring forth the dark heirs to that dominion!"

"I am sorry that you were injured," Byakuya said quietly, "I assure you that Hajime was grieved as well. It is not our way to harm the innocent. His life was surely threatened or he would not have risked attacking as he did."

The witch went silent for a moment, glaring into his eyes, a flicker of something unreadable appearing there for a moment, then disappearing.

"Well," she said, rubbing the bump on his abdomen and making his skin crawl, "As much as I appreciate your heartfelt apology, I can offer you no mercy...none, Aizen Byakuya."

"If you can be healed and Diablo is able to give you a child, then...will you agree to..."

"You are not going to save your king or yourself that way, so do not try lying to me," the witch warned him.

"I am not lying. I will go with you to one who I know can heal you and I will convince her to do so."

"If I spare you and your child? And the life of your king? Impossible," the witch said solemnly, "I need your child's reiatsu to bring my husband back, and he will not rest until he kills Aizen to end the last king's family line. You...I will allow to live...to serve us."

"But if I can help you regain your fertility, will you allow me to die honorably?" Byakuya asked, making the witch freeze and stare at him in surprise, "You may not understand the demands of honor...but, if all is lost and Sousuke and my child die, it would be a torment living. You know that torment yourself. Do you blame me for desiring this?"

The witch went quiet, moving her clawed hands over Byakuya's bared abdomen and infusing his body with balancing reiatsu. After a time, she sighed softly and answered.

"Your ancestor, Hajime, incurred a deep debt with what he did," she hissed, her eyes glowing malevolently, "He is not here, and you are now consort. What he died owing is still unpaid. As his descendant, you must bear the weight of that debt, Byakuya. I will offer you the kindness of dulling your mind so that you are senseless and unaware as you take your place in our new monarchy...but I cannot forgive him...and I cannot free you, not even if you can deliver what you promise."

Byakuya's eyes closed and his lips quivered for only a moment. Then his gray eyes opened again, exuding only calm acceptance as he looked up into the witch's glinting eyes.

"I understand," he whispered, "And you leave me no choice, but to fight you with everything I have left."

"And what is that?" the witch asked mockingly, "Your powers are gone. Your child is already in the thrall of my power and about to be sacrificed. Your husband rushes to find his death here. What can you possibly do now? You have no hidden weapon...nothing with which to fight me. How will you fight?"

"I still have my heart," said Byakuya, "And despite what you think, it is a powerful thing."

"Perhaps," said the witch, chilling him by placing her hand on his chest and feeling the beat beneath flesh, blood and bone, "But your heart will soon disappear, and then all of your hopes will die. But you will live on in despair, Byakuya. Face the facts. You are a mere pawn in this. You are nothing.

_I am not nothing._

_I am Aizen Byakuya, Aizen Sousuke's lover and consort._

_And before this ends, you will learn painfully, exactly what that means._

_Sousuke..._

_Why wouldn't you listen to me?_

_Why couldn't you let us go?_

_Though, something inside me is glad that you didn't listen, and is touched at what you risk to save me. I will not panic, but will lie quietly. And whatever happens, I will express to you just how grateful I am. _

_I died for you before._

_Now, I must live for you._


	11. The Heart Rending

**Chapter 11: The Heart Rending**

**(Whew! Heart racing from so much adrenaline! Thanks going out to Guest who pleaded for update (Here it is!), Geecee (Yeah, Bya will do his best to hold on for his Sousuke), Sariniste (Sorry for the wait! I'm going to put this story on a faster track since it's moving along towards the climax), Firebirdever (Don't read this chapter alone at night! lol), MissLilly2012 (So glad you like the story! I will try to have another chapter up very soon!), and RosyDigzzz23 (DUUUUUUDE! I will try to hurry up the next post so less waiting! lol) Enjoy the chapter! Love, Spunky) **

Byakuya laid, shivering in the icy coldness of the depths of Las Noches, bound to the hard, chill black floor with heavy kido chains and forced to confront the darkness of his predicament alone as he waited for the hollow witch to return. He felt already the beginnings of encroachment from the pendant that hung around his throat. And had he been able to move, he would have cast the foul thing away. But, he was aware, casting the wicked thing away was not enough to stop it.

And he had no idea what power it would take to do that.

_The healers in the spirit dimension, healers with great skill, could not understand, much less undo what was happening to me. The witch crafted this pendant long ago and has spent months using it to drain me...bonding the thing to my soul...positioning it to invade and corrupt the growing reiatsu of Sousuke's and my child. _

_That the witch abducted me now is no coincidence. It suggests that a transitional stage has been reached. Perhaps the pendant had to fully bond with my reiatsu and the one inside me for the next part of the ritual to occur. But...is there more that has to happen, or is our child's reiatsu already corrupted? And if we are already corrupted, can it be undone?_

_Or is it already too late?_

He heard the witch's footsteps returning and felt desperation begin to set in. Even had it not been so cold, he would have felt that same ice in his veins as the inevitability of what was happening closed in on him.

_I have no powers, no means of escape, and I do not understand how the power being used to corrupt us works. She made references to my heart when I spoke of it as my last means of resisting her, and from what I understand, I think that she means for me to fully hollowfy as part of the ritual. She did say that I would lose my heart._

The witch's footsteps continued their slow, unhurried approach, echoing more loudly and making his heart race faster. Byakuya made slow, careful movements, testing the strength of his bonds and finding no weaknesses to exploit. He reached down inside himself, searching for a means to invoke his powers, but finding the seal far too firm for him to break through.

_Although, if she pushes my body hard enough and I feel death closing in, there is a last, desperate well of power that we can only use as a last resort...when all else fails. But to use that power steals some of the very life out of our veins. It is the stealing away of our own life force, something very limited in quantity and painfully slow to regenerate, which is why the body safeguards it carefully, only releasing it when there is no other choice. But the witch is likely aware of this. And what if she anticipates and uses it somehow to her advantage? I must play the few cards I have cautiously._

_I will try to draw her out, to keep her talking for as long as possible, tease he into explaining everything and offer what resistance I can...all to give Sousuke time to reach this place. I must endure until his arrival._

He heard the footsteps stop, and the witch dropped down to kneel at his side.

"You are cold," she observed tonelessly, her eyes devoid of emotion, "But...do not worry. For although you are about to hollowfy, you will not enter the colder regime of death. There will still be something left of you when this is over."

"Because you mean for me to serve you," Byakuya said quietly, his tone calm and not at all confrontational.

"Yes. And serve us, you will, descendant of the wicked consort, Kuchiki Hajime. You will pay in kind for the blood he spilled that day...each drop of mine and of my unborn prince's as well. I have already spilled and stolen your blood and reiatsu for the ritual, and fused them with a tiny piece of Diablo's heart...taken from the time of his death in the spirit realm, and his making over into a hollow lord. You see...there is a further story, one that I have not told you...one that I will share with you before I make you Diablo's vessel, and then his slave-concubine."

She reached down and opened his yukata, leaving him even more exposed to the cold, then laying an icier hand on his swollen belly.

"You know that demons exist in the spirit dimension. You knew this even before you became Aizen's consort..."

"Aizen_-sama's_ consort," Byakuya corrected her solemnly, earning a stinging slap across the face.

"I told you, _king's whore_, that the demons of the spirit dimension do not recognize the king's sovereignty!"

"Whether or not you recognize it, my husband is the king of the three worlds, and until you have toppled him, he remains your king as well!"

"So belligerent!" hissed the witch, "You act as though you have the power to rebuke me. But you have nothing...and soon, you will not even have your child and your bastard king!"

"You speak as though you have already won," Byakuya said softly, "but I sense there is something more to this ritual. I do not think that I am yet without hope. Such a ritual as one to revive a fallen hollow king would entail careful attention to the details. I know this..."

"...because of your family's status as the king's historians. But although you are correct in your thinking, the birth and making of demons and what happens when they are made into hollows is a mystery to you. Unlike the hollows, demons still have a heart. They are, in fact, very powerful souls...powerful souls made black by their refusal to be subjugated by the king. The demons live lives of stealth and violent death. They stalk the royals and the nobles who live in the palace and they kill relentlessly. Diablo and I both have our root in that age old conflict. We were both souls of the spirit dimension...and it was in a bitter struggle with the former king that we were defeated and cast down. As we fell, Diablo tore out a piece of his heart and gave it to me, so that it would not be lost entirely when he became king of the hollows. I suspended that piece of his heart in a pendant I wore around my throat. And I promised Diablo that one day I would see him restored and made king."

"And he made you, another fallen demon, his queen?" asked Byakuya.

"Yes," the witch answered, "He made me his queen and we ruled Hueco Mundo, always with the intent of strengthening ourselves so that we would be strong enough to return and to kill the king. Prophecy turned in our favor, and we saw the signs that made us prepare to invade the spirit dimension. It was at that time that Kuchiki Hajime was send with an envoy from the king, purportedly to try to keep calm between our warring dominions. But we were wary of trusting our enemy's right hand..."

"And so Diablo killed Hajime's escort and cornered him, setting off the chain of events that led to Diablo's downfall."

The witch glowered.

"I will never forgive Kuchiki Hajime, nor the rest of that cursed family for what he did to me that day. And the pain is worse for losing my husband when he fell to the last king, and when he failed to return upon Aizen's arrival in the spirit dimension. But my pain will end here, and will be returned in kind upon you, the descendant of the last king's whore. You will lose your child to the rebirth ritual that will give me back my husband, then you will lose your husband as I lost mine. After that, Diablo and I will seize control of the spirit dimension, killing all within the palace walls and razing that place. It is there that we will reclaim what belongs to us and rule over the three worlds. And it is there that you will serve as our slave-concubine, bearing powerful heirs to maintain our dominion."

She gave Byakuya a wicked smile.

"You have gotten quiet, Kuchiki Byakuya," she observed, "Have you come to see that you are without hope?"

"I am not," Byakuya said softly, "For even though you have planned my fate out, it has not played out. There are yet, steps to be taken...critical steps in which any misplay could spell your downfall and open the pathway to my rescue."

The witch laughed.

"Is that what you really think? That your steps are not already cast in stone? That you still wield some control over your own fate and the fate of that brat in your belly?"

Her face contorted into a mask of blind hatred.

"Well, let me tell you...your hopes of rescue were shattered long ago, when first you crossed my path. That day when I returned your eyesight and gave you back your powers, I took your future. After that, nothing you did made any difference. I stalked you and slowly stole your power. I invaded your body and drained away your reiatsu. And under the nose of your precious king, I turned you down the path that will lead to the deaths of _all of you_! That you will serve us is a given, Kuchiki Byakuya, and that your child and your king will be destroyed is already an undeniable fact. Hope in vain, if you wish...but those are baseless hopes. You are already lost. Your baby is lost. Your king is lost. And if you want proof of that, I will be happy to give it to you!"

Byakuya flinched as the witch tore the pendant from his neck and placed it in a small silver bowl she had brought with her. She pricked her finger and let a single drop of her blood fall on the place where the piece of Diablo's heart had been sealed with Byakuya's blood and reiatsu. She held a hand over the pendant and the offering of her blood, letting her reiatsu swell around them, and whispering an echoing incantation. Byakuya watched with widened eyes as the dream that had plagued him while at home in the palace began to come to life.

Light flared, reflecting off the silver bowl and casting odd flashes all around them as she worked. Byakuya heard odd whispers and felt flares of heat, then icy chills that made his heart race wildly and left him wanting to scream. Power raged around the witch's hands, and with each flare of power, pain rocketed through Byakuya's bound body, making him close his eyes and groan, writhing within the kido chains. Even as the witch's power receded and the pain abated, he still felt the ghostly tendrils of it invading him all over like invisible snakes.

_What is happening?_

He remembered then how, in his dream, she had forced something down his throat, and when she approached him with something in her hand, he knew better than to lie quietly and accept his fate. Feeling the closeness of death, Byakuya's body responded with the only power he had left, the very core of his own life...his own life force. The bindings on his body shattered, and he forced himself to his feet, ignoring the awful pain as he moved after having lain bound for too long. He staggered back from her, the white light of his life force curling around him, and he looked for a way out, but the witch gave him a knowing smile and laughed at him.

"There is no escape," she told him, "I sealed them as I entered the chamber this time. You cannot slay me, not even with this last desperate use of your life force. You will only become a hollow more quickly. You have failed, Kuchiki Byakuya! Fall into despair and take the only path left to you!"

Byakuya flash stepped away as she appeared in front of him, then reeled as she followed and stuck at him, catching him with a glancing blow that took him off his feet and sent him crashing into a stone wall, which shattered under the force of his body striking it. He tore free of the debris and ran for the door he knew they had entered through, only to slide to a stop just short of it, as something struck the ceiling above it, making debris rain down and blocking his path. She continued to stalk him, stopping him and blocking each pathway he tried to take, slowly wearing him down until he was panting hard, shaking and in danger of collapse.

"You cannot continue this," the witch said solemnly, "So, accept your fate. Consume the offering and prepare to become the vessel for true king's return!"

She disappeared again, reappearing in front of him before he could move, cruelly taking her time, backing him into a corner, then binding him again. She loosed a small cero, dropping him where he stood, then dragged him back to the center of the room and bound him again.

"This is the end for you," she whispered, producing the odd looking seedlike thing he remembered from his nightmares, and forcing it into his mouth then down his throat as he choked and gasped, no longer able to resist, "Now, take our form, Kuchiki Byakuya. Fall as we did and yield up your heart."

Her icy hands touched his abdomen again, and her laughter filled Byakuya's ears as she stared down into the noble's senseless eyes and whispered the final invocation. Power exploded around them, dust and debris billowing outward from them and obscuring the inside of the chamber as Byakuya's breached body loosed a terrified howl that rang off the walls and grew louder by the moment, rising until it shook the very foundation on which he rested.

The witch retreated then, watching with narrowed eyes as the air around them cleared and the encroachment began. Byakuya's cries of pain began to echo about the chamber, and his body writhed in agony as white bone swirled around him and began to form a mask over his face.

_I will not give in!_

_Despite everything, I will..._

Harsh, stinging pain erupted in his chest, making his thoughts freeze.

_Oh no!_

_No, not this!_

He watched in horrified fascination as a hole began to open in his chest. The witch's evil laughter blended deafeningly in his ears with his terrified screams as the hole widened, and the noble felt his very heart begin to disappear.

_How could this happen?_

_How could I fail them this?_

_My unborn child...and the man I love...how could I fail them so?_

_Sousuke...I have done all I can._

_Sousuke..._

_Sousuke..._

"SOUSUKE!" he screamed as the last of his heart disappeared and his mind went blank.

His final scream echoed around the witch and the newly made hollow, then slowly faded away, leaving the witch gazing down at him with peaceful satisfied eyes. She returned to his side and knelt beside him, her hand once again seeking his pregnant abdomen. She examined the swell of reiatsu beneath it and laughed again more softly.

"I will leave you for him to find now," she whispered, "When he comes, you will kill him. And...when his blood is spilled and added to the offering, Diablo will be born!"

She slipped away then, into the darkness, leaving the hollow lying on the floor, his white body and swollen abdomen exposed...

But no longer feeling the cold.

XXXXXXXXXX

"We're finally here," panted Grimmjow, wiping the sweat from his brow and looking around him.

Aizen followed a step behind, sheathing his blade and following the former Espada's gaze.

"Something is wrong," Ichigo said, moving to join them.

"Yeah," Renji agreed, "We were having to fight like hell every step of the way here, but all of a sudden, there's no one here? Something's real fishy about this!"

"Stay close to me," Aizen said tersely, leading them through the deserted courtyard and into the ruins of Las Noches.

"Do you feel that?" asked Grimmjow, "It's like _his_ reiatsu, but..."

"I feel it too," said Ichigo.

"Me also," agreed Renji.

"The witch is not trying to hide where he is," Aizen said with certainty, "She expects that she is strong enough to brace all of us here. She thinks that she can win. She would not think this unless her abilities or traps she has set for us are formidible. Move carefully. I will not be able to give attention to rescuing you if you endanger yourselves recklessly."

"Yeah, thanks for the words of encouragement," muttered Renji, shaking his head.

"He sure hasn't changed much," sighed Ichigo.

"No, not much at all," agreed Grimmjow, "Once a bastard, always a bastard, even if you are the rightful king."

"Be quiet," Aizen hissed softly, "Come this way."

He led them down a long stairway, moving closer to where he sensed Byakuya was. He reached out with his mind, but felt no connection with the noble, only a chilling silence and vague sense of detachment. They reached the bottom of the stairs and Aizen stopped them.

"I will enter first," he told them quietly, "Remain here, and do not enter until I call for you."

The three younger men nodded and took up defensive positions on the wide stairway, waiting as Aizen tried the door. To their surprise, the door opened easily.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," whispered Grimmjow, staring.

Aizen stepped into the room, turning in surprise as the door suddenly slammed shut between the others and him. He heard alarmed voices, then several explosions, and the sound of the witch cackling as she attacked the others.

_And yet, she let me reach him so easily..._

He spotted Byakuya's bared body in the middle of the floor, his flesh looking pale and ghostly in the darkness, and his head turned away. All around him laid a set of shattered chains.

_He is unbound, but he does not move from that spot._

He moved closer.

"Byakuya," he whispered, his eyes widening as the noble's head turned.

He saw then what he had not before...A hollow mask covering the upper half of the noble's handsome face and the left side...white with delicate swirls of pink and silver. And in the place where his heart should be, a wide, empty space.

"Byakuya," he whispered again, staring at his lover's pregnant abdomen, "What has she done to you?"

The hollow's golden eyes blinked slowly, as though trying to understand, then focused on him again.

"Byakuya, watashi no koi..."

"S...s...sou.s-s-ske?" the hollow hissed uncertainly.

"I am here," he said softly, "And help is coming."

He started to say more, but was forced to retreat as the hollow turned and surged to his feet, attacking in a blaze of swirling red and golden fire.


	12. Black Petal Storm

**Chapter 12: Black Petal Storm**

**(My deepest gratitude to Finkleisms and Sariniste for reviewing :) You guys are great! Enjoy the new chapter. Love Spunky)**

"What the hell?" snapped Renji, unsheathing his sword as a thick stone door slid shut between Aizen and the rest of the group.

"Damn!" hissed Ichigo, pressing his bare hands against the stone door and finding it to be locked into place.

"Looks like we're on our own, kids," Grimmjow said sarcastically, "But I'd bet my ass we're not gonna be alone for long."

"You're probably right about that," Renji said, "So go on up the stairs and I'll see about blasting that door open."

"With what?" quipped Grimmjow, "You're not thinking of using that huge ban kai of yours in here, ne? You'll bring the whole place down! Ichigo could try a Getsuga, but even that might destabilize things too much. Remember, this place was pretty wrecked from when you assholes came here and blew half of it away looking for Orihime."

"Yeah, we remember," said Ichigo, looking around, "But I don't see another way in here...at least not one that will get us into the room any time soon. And I don't know about you, but I figure that since the king is on _that_ side of the wall, it's going to be where the bigger bad guy's gonna be."

"Good guess," laughed Grimmjow, "I knew you were more than a pretty face and a good piece of ass, Kurosaki."

"Shut up," muttered Renji, "We've got to concentrate. So, which are we going to risk...Zabimaru or Zangetsu?"

"You guys pick. I'm going to guard the stairs. Because, I don't know about you, but I'm thinking that the witch doesn't just have something planned for Aizen."

"Very good," said the witch, glowering down at them from a landing at the top of the stone steps they were on.

She gave the a sly smile.

"Why Grimmjow," she sneered, "Joined up with the shinigamis, I see. I barely recognize you without your mask and all dressed up in that handsome shihakushou. You look so civilized! And you have two shinigami boyfriends, ne? Lovely..."

"We are _not_ his boyfriends!" yelled Renji, "Well, one of us is not, anyway. Now, back off, or we'll attack."

"Oh, he's adorable," said the witch, smirking, "I may keep him alive for a while to play with."

"Shut up!" shouted Ichigo, drawing his sword, "And back off, like he said. We just want to reach King Aizen. We have no interest in you."

"Well," hissed the witch, "I have an interest in you! And you are not going to interfere with the king's reunion with his royal whore. It should be quite the get together. I'm sure the king is just _dying_ to see his lovely mate!"

"All right," snapped Grimmjow, "We've had enough of your shit! Now, you're gonna pay!"

He disappeared in a flash step, but reappeared a moment later as the witch extended her hand and thick, plantlike tendrils erupted from the walls and stairs and wrapped around him.

"Holy hell!" cried Renji, "Howl, Zabiamru!"

The redhead's blade extended, raking along the tendrils that held Grimmjow and tearing him free. The with cackled loudly and summoned more tendrils that left the three young men cursing and hacking at them wildly with their swords.

"Oh boys, you little fools," sneered the witch, "You won't be able to cut your way out of there...at least, not before my pretty tendrils sprout and share their splendid fruit with you."

"Oh boy," huffed Renji, watching as several glowing bulbs formed on the tendrils, "I hope to hell this isn't like Yumichika's not so secret ability with the flowers that suck out our reiatsu and kill us!"

"Ah, no, dear," the witch said, feigning gentleness, "I am afraid that this attack is a bit more, shall we say...abrupt, than that one. But don't worry. Once those bulbs open, you won't be around long enough to feel any pain."

The witch disappeared, leaving the three shinigamis struggling on the stairway.

"Damn it all to HELL!" howled Grimmjow, "We gotta get out of this shit now! Do either of you have anything that can get us loose? Preferably without killing us?

"Eh...I could try my Getsugatenshou," offered Ichigo, "but I might singe you a little."

"I might have something that will work," said Renji, "But I'll need my ban kai."

"Whoa, hold on! Wait a sec!" objected Grimmjow, "Weren't we just talking about how that _wasn't_ a good idea because it might knock half the building on top of us? Now you say 'What the hell, let's do that?' Are you nuts?"

"Take it easy," said Ichigo, struggling a few steps forward and hacking at the tendrils holding Grimmjow, then attacking more that sought to wrap around him, "I think I know what he's thinking, but...we should get close together, ne Renji?"

"Yeah, this'll just take a sec."

The redhead took a steadying breath.

_All right, you idiots. Don't fuck this up or we are all gonna get crushed under this building when it collapses._

"Ban kai! Hihio, Zabimaru!"

Grimmjow and Ichigo watched and continued to slice at the tendrils as the skeletal snake filled the area in front of the stone door at the bottom of the stairs.

"Okay now, grab the mane as he goes by and stay clear of his mouth, all right?"

"Oh yeah," Grimmjow muttered sarcastically, "Sure...that's easy."

"Shut up and get ready," Ichigo said, slashing at the tendrils that continued to advance.

"Hikotsu Taihou!" yelled Renji, jumping onto the snake's neck and clinging to the mane as the beast surged forward. Ichigo leapt nimbly onto the snake and Grimmjow followed, scowling and hissing furiously a moment later. The three held on tightly as the snake raked the stairs, sweeping up all of the glowing bulbs. They reached the top of the stairs and leapt off of the snake, rolling in all directions and taking cover as the snake spotted the witch watching them, and launched her own explosive bulbs back at her in addition to Zabimaru's blazing fire blast.

The witch screeched in fury, disappearing into the billowing fire, only to emerge a moment later, slightly scorched and wearing a dangerously enraged expression.

Renji recalled Zabimaru and sent the snake soaring back down the broken stone steps, taking aim on the stone door and readying another blast.

"Hikotsu Taihou!" the redhead yelled again.

The three men froze as the witch cast something dark into the stairwell ahead of the skeletal snake, and a deafening roar erupted from the area at the bottom of the stairs.

"What in kami's name?" Renji stammered as the skeletal snake screamed and broke apart, "What is that?"

"Oh," said the witch, from behind them, making Grimmjow turn to guard their backs, "That is just one of my pets. Have fun with him. I will be back."

"Bitch!" Grimmjow snarled as she disappeared, "Thinks that's going to be enough to..."

He broke off, staring as a huge, bulky canine body with three long, snakelike heads emerged from the stairwell.

"Oh my kami," panted Renji, still reeling from the destruction of his ban kai, "What the fuck _is_ that?"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Byakuya," Aizen said, his voice exuding unexpected calm as his blade extended and blocked the noble's hands, which had grown into long, black claws.

The king gazed into the deep gray eyes, now shot through with flashes of red and gold, and gold centered. The noble's hair had grown longer, so that it hung down over his pale body, partially obscuring the areas left uncovered by his open yukata. But the swollen bump on his abdomen remained painfully exposed. And Aizen could see an odd, frightening glow that warned that something horrid was happening beneath the surface of Byakuya's white skin.

"I do not wish to hurt you," Aizen went on, "You are with child...you are having our child. Fighting will endanger our baby. You know that."

Byakuya's lips curled back, revealing razor-sharp teeth, and he let out another warning hiss. A chill went through the king at the lack of comprehension or recognition in his lover's eyes.

"Come, Byakuya, I can help you. I know that you are confused, that the hollowfication has left you tormented. But this is not the end...not for you, and not for our child. You need but take my hand and give me your trust. We will return home to the spirit dimension and..."

He was forced to flash step away as Byakuya's clawed black hand rose, and a huge red cero formed. He flash stepped again, invoking the power of his zanpakutou to hide himself from the hollowfied noble, but allowed his voice to reach out to his lover, though obscuring the direction.

"Byakuya...Byakuya, you must come with me," he went on as the noble fired his cero in a large sweep around the room, "I know that you care about the child you carry...our child. You have already the loss of one. I know that you do not ever want to experience that again."

He paused as Byakuya emitted a furious shriek, and a long, slender black blade appeared in his clawed hand.

"A dark Senbonzakura?" Aizen mused, "My love, even corrupted, the two of you are beautiful...you and your sword. Now...lay that down and come home with me. Your soul called out to mine before. I sensed that you were fighting her...fighting to keep your heart. And I will tell you that it is not too late. I can still save you! But you must stop. You must cease trying to attack me. I cannot take you back through the dimension wall like this."

He flash stepped in close to the noble and laid a hand around Byakuya's slender, black wrist.

"Come now," he whispered in the noble's ear, "Let it go."

He relaxed his powers to reveal himself and held the noble's sword aside with one hand, and caught the other clawed hand with his other hand. He gazed deeply into the hollowfied consort's widened, surprised eyes.

"Byakuya," he whispered, touching his lips to the frozen hollow's, "Aishiteru yo."

Byakuya's fireshot eyes glared back at him threateningly, and a breathless moment ensued. It ended quickly as a snarl escaped the noble, and the clawed hand that held Senbonzakura tore away from the king's, bringing the weapon up.

"Scatter," the hollowfied noble said.

Aizen watched breathlessly as Byakuya's body took on the appearance of the samurai that had been his blade's spirit. His hollow mask altered itself until it matched the mask that the noble's counterpart had worn. His sword disappeared altogether.

"So...instead of your zanpakutou lending you Senbonzakura's power to bind with your own, you have been bound together as in a resurreccion form," he mused, "What will you do now, my love?"

Byakuya emitted a grating screech and a fury of beautiful black sakura petals erupted from his hands, spinning as they swelled in the air around him, then took aim on the enchanted king.

Strangely, Aizen found himself smiling in approval.

"Just as winning a spectacle as I would expect from my beloved consort," he complimented the noble, as the incoming petal blades forced him to flash step away, "You are truly amazing, even this way. And I am sure that your powers are impressive, as always. But you must give this up. You must not drain yourself so much. You need your reiatsu to remain in balance."

He cloaked himself in illusion and flash stepped towards the noble.

"And in any case, you told me the secret to defending against your powers, Byakuya. And they will not have changed so much, even now that you have hollowfied."

He reappeared in front of the noble and touched his face to the dark samurai's mask.

"Come back to me, Byakuya," he whispered, loosing a quick jolt of kido to try to shatter the mask.

He caught his breath in surprise as something was thrust into his midsection and gasped as Byakuya then withdrew a bloodied hand from the king's shocked body. Aizen flash stepped away, quickly invoking his powers again to hide himself from the noble as Byakuya lifted his clawed hand and held it up to his nose, breathing in the scent. He gave a soft, feral whine and tasted the blood, then breathed in more deeply and scanned the room.

"Ah," Aizen said, flash stepping as his hollowfied mate sensed the blood he had drawn and used it to direct a cero at the stunned king.

But a moment later, Aizen appeared on the other side of the room, a hand over the injury on his torso, and panting softly, but with a look of determination on his face.

"I see," he said softly, dodging as Byakuya used sonido to pursue him, and sent waves of lovely black petal blades after him, "Because you have drawn my blood, you can sense it, even when I use my zanpakutou to fool your senses. Interesting..."

He flash stepped in close to the noble.

"Bakudo #63, Rikoujoukorou." Aizen said calmly, watching as the six rod prison of light snapped into place around his lover's body.

Byakuya screeched hatefully in defiance, and his reiatsu rose until the walls and ceiling of the room trembled warningly. Byakuya screamed louder, his reiatsu continuing to rise. Aizen frowned as one of the rods shattered, and the others tremored ominously.

"Bakudo #4, Hainawa."

He watched as the golden kido ropes wrapped themselves around the noble's body, wrists and ankles, making Byakuya collapse onto the stone floor.

"I am sorry, my love," Aizen said softly, "I would have like to have you choose to come back with me, but it seems that I am not able to break through to you. Be calm, now. I won't hurt you. You and our baby are going to be fine."

He moved forward, preparing to shock the noble with a careful jolt of kido. Byakuya's widened eyes glared at him as he approached, and the noble's pale lips hissed out incoherent, hateful threats. Aizen ignored them and moved closer, pausing as Byakuya's voice sounded again.

"S-sen...kei!"

Aizen inhaled sharply in surprise as a sea of black swords materialized all around them, then flew towards them with deadly intent. He managed to shield himself, repelling the blades that tried to impale him, but watching in dismay as some of the blades slashed the kido bindings on his hollowfied lover.

_His powers are functioning so oddly! It is neither exactly shinigami power, nor completely hollow, but a strange mixing of the two. It only supports my belief that what has been done to him is incomplete, and we can find a way to stop it!_

He dodged the black swords, and flash stepped towards the noble, altering course as more of the black swords appeared and flew at him. Byakuya grabbed one of the black swords and made the rest disappear, then launched himself at the king, slashing at him viciously, then turning and engaging him again.

_His pregnancy had slowed and somewhat weakened him, but I feel no weakness in his blade now. Indeed, it seems that he has regained the reiatsu he lost before. But then, why has he hollowfied?_

Aizen turned and blocked another nasty slash, then grabbed Byakuya's blade with his bare hand and forced it to the side.

"This is a useless endeavor, Byakuya," he said solemnly, "You are not going to hurt me, and you may get hurt, yourself if you persist. I see that I have no choice but to end this now..."

"Goukei," said Byakuya, moving his hands, and sending a swirl of petals that surrounded the king on all sides.

Byakuya watched with glittering eyes as the petals surrounded the king, then on his command, collapsed inward and slashed at him from every conceivable direction. He waited quietly as the dust and black petals fell away, waiting to see the king fall.

To his surprise, Aizen, though somewhat battered and cut in a few places, was still standing. Byakuya frowned and looked down at the hilt of his blade, quickly recalling its power and sealing it as Aizen walked towards him.

"You cannot defeat me," the king said softly, "Not with your body, not with your blade and not even with your considerable powers. Come now, set this aside, and do not make me become forceful with you. Am I not your king and lover, Byakuya? A man whose life you sacrificed your own to save? Has it not been your greatest concern to see to my safety?"

As he moved forward, he whispered a command to his zanpakutou to make images of their past appear in the air all around the staring, hollowfied noble. Byakuya's eyes flicked about, catching sight of pieces of their past, here and there, and loosing soft, soulful sounds of distress as his muddled mind tried to remember. One clawed black hand touched his chest and he moaned in pain.

"I know," Aizen said sympathetically, "It is painful to have lost that part of yourself. But I told you. I can help you regain what you have lost. Come with me, Byakuya. Return home to the spirit dimension with me and I promise you that we will find a way to restore you. Will you trust me?"

He stopped several steps away, extending a hand.

Byakuya took a shuddering breath and groaned as the samurai mask that had appeared on his face while using his zanpakutou reverted to the white with pink and silver swirls that it had been when Aizen had entered the room. He moved closer to Aizen, one clawed hand reaching out to touch the king's offered hand. Aizen smiled warmly, slipping his arms around the noble and offering his softly shaking mate a gentle kiss of welcome.

As their lips met, the viciousness returned suddenly to Byakuya's red, golden and gray eyes, and he tore one clawed hand free and thrust it at the king's midsection. He gasped in surprise as a strong hand caught his, stopping it just short of doing damage, and slipped a silver band around his wrist, sealing his powers. A quickly breathed kido spell made golden ropes wrap around his wrists, binding them in front of him.

"There now," Aizen said calmly, "You know now that you have no means of fighting, ne?"

He slipped an arm around the defeated looking hollow and led him back towards the place where he had entered the room. He reached the locked stone door and listened for a moment to the sounds of a fierce battle still raging on the other side.

"Stay behind me," Aizen warned Byakuya, "I am not sure what situation we will find the others in when I break through."

He raised his reiatsu and prepared to blast his way through, but stopped as the witch's laughter sounded, and the walls and ceiling began to quake ominously. Aizen grabbed Byakuya and flash stepped away as a mountain of rock tumbled down and completely blocked the way out. He gave Byakuya an affectionate kiss on the cheek, then raised a protective barrier around him.

"Stay here," he warned his lover, "You will be safe while I see to her."

"Well, isn't that touching," sneered the witch, turning her head slightly to give Byakuya a derisive glare, "I should have known that _you_ would be too weak to do the job, but ah well...I am not above spilling his blood and forcing it into you to complete the ritual."

The witch stepped forward, her footsteps echoing ominously as she moved. She paused, facing Aizen and smiling.

"Aizen Sousuke," she said quietly.

"Yumejaaka," the king said, acknowledging her.

"You know my name."

"Yes, Yumejaaka, the hollow king's consort...and before that you were both demons of the spirit dimension, ne?"

"You have studied our history," commented the witch, "Why? You knew Diablo was dead, and you did not know that it was me who stalked your consort."

"No, I did not know that it was you," Aizen admitted, "But when I was made king, I was made aware of the history of demons in the spirit dimension, as well as the story of the fall of Diablo, his tenure as king of the hollow world, then his death at the hands of the former king. And it was there that I encountered your history, Yumejaaka."

"Then, you know that Kuchiki Hajime..."

"...struck you when you sought to attack him with stealth," finished Aizen.

"I _never _attacked him!" snarled the witch, "He struck at my husband and clumsily hit me!"

"I am sure that is the lie that you have been spewing at my beloved to try to wear him down," Aizen said, maintaining his calm demeanor, "However, remember that I was infused with the king's prism upon my ascension, and I remember everything that my forebears saw and did. The king was watching through Hajime's eyes and he witnessed how you moved to attack and the king's consort only sought to defend himself. It was _you_ who made up that fabrication, which set Diablo on the path to directly attacking the king and dying. In short, you brought everything on yourself. You cannot place the blame on Byakuya and his ancestors."

"_LIAR!_" the witch screamed, That _monster_ murdered my child in my belly! You should be happy that all I am doing is using your child's soul to bring about my husband's rebirth! I even plan to let your consort live and continue to bear children for my husband and I when we return to the spirit dimension. The only one who needs to die, now, is _you_!"

"It isn't going to happen," Aizen said quietly, "You are going to die, and I am going to see that Byakuya is restored."

"_Fool_!" hissed the witch, "He is already a hollow! You can see that!"

"He has hollowfied," Aizen agreed, "However, analyzing his attacks, I would say that he has not passed over completely. Rather, I think that you planned that the completion of this ritual to raise your husband will complete Byakuya's transition from transcendent to hollow."

"Think what you will, but your royal whore belongs to us now!" the witch proclaimed, "Now...we shall do what we came here to do."

She let one eye fall on the bound noble.

"Come, Byakuya," the witch said calmly, extending a hand.

"No," said Aizen, strengthening the barrier around the noble, "He is not going to be involved in this fight. As one who depends on him for your ritual, I would think that you would spare him."

The witch laughed loudly and loosed a huge blast that shattered the protective barrier around the noble and released him from the bonds on his body and his powers.

"Byakuya," Aizen called, his lips tightening in fury as the noble disappeared and reappeared alongside the witch.

A moment later, the dark Senbonzakura formed in his hand.

The witch laughed louder until her voice rebounded off the walls all around them.

"Now," she said, smiling, "We are going to kill you, Aizen Sousuke."


	13. Dark Angel's Cry

**Chapter 13: Dark Angel's Cry**

**(Thanks so very much to RosyDigzzz23 (You've got it! Here's more for you!), D-Chan (That witch will be very sorry for underestimating what is between Aizen and Byakuya!), Sariniste (lol, The battle has just begun! But it will end in this chapter in a display we only wish we could see done in anime!), Guest (Okay! Here's more...), SexyBVirgo (Aizen will be a bit breathless at what happens next!), and Finkleisms (Hope you saved some popcorn for the finale of this battle!) Enjoy the chapter! Love, Spunky)**

_"Come, Byakuya," the witch said calmly, extending a hand._

_"No," said Aizen, strengthening the barrier around the noble, "He is not going to be involved in this fight. As one who depends on him for your ritual, I would think that you would spare him."_

_The witch laughed loudly and loosed a huge blast that shattered the protective barrier around the noble and released him from the bonds on his body and his powers._

_"Byakuya," Aizen called, his lips tightening in fury as the noble disappeared and reappeared alongside the witch._

_A moment later, the dark Senbonzakura formed in his hand._

_The witch laughed louder until her voice rebounded off the walls all around them._

_"Now," she said, smiling, "We are going to kill you, Aizen Sousuke."_

The king's eyes darkened with fury as the witch fired plantlike tendrils from her hands that snaked about, growing like ivy around the room and covering the walls, floors, ceiling and even the rocky debris. Kido erupted from his hands, fending off the approach of the crawling tendrils as Byakuya stepped back with one foot and lifted his blade, point upward, gazing at the tip with dazed eyes and breathing a command.

"Kuragari no mitsukai..."

Despite the nature of what was happening, Aizen Sousuke's breath was taken away as his lovely mate's body was suddenly surrounded by the lovely, black petals, then emerged again a moment later, fully transformed.

"Watashi no koi," the king whispered, still fending off the witch's plantlike tendrils, but enchanted by the soft looking, feathery black wings and dark halo that formed around the transformed consort's comely, pale body, the depthless, full-golden eyes, even longer, flowing black hair, darkened, shapely lips and pearly fangs, "You will strike me dead with just your beauty alone."

He watched in awe as Byakuya's sweet lips parted and emitted a soulful, keening cry, then he felt as though razors had raked along his skin. He stared, rapt as blood leaked from a multitude of minor cuts that had opened up on his skin at the sound.

He didn't miss the fact that as Byakuya's cry sounded, the witch shielded her own body from it as well. But before he could respond, Senbonzakura re-formed in the hollow's hand, and Byakuya flash stepped and swept up into the air, above him, his feathery wings fluttering.

"Such a lovely thing, isn't he?" Yumejaaka said softly, her eyes almost tender as she watched Byakuya move towards Aizen, "What a sinfully beautiful sound he makes, no? Are you tempted?"

Aizen flash stepped towards the transformed noble, shielding himself as Byakuya's voice sounded again. But even shielded, he wasn't completely able to stop all of the wickedly soulful edges from cutting his skin. He noted too, that the witch was staying well away from the noble, opting instead to watch from a distance as Byakuya moved forward, in an attempt to corner his royal mate.

_Ah...I see._

Aizen quietly invoked Kyoka Suigetsu's power and flash stepped past the noble, barely escaping a sweeping slice of his black blade. He caught his breath in surprise as a deep cut appeared across his back, opened by just the disturbed blast of air that touched him as he dodged.

The witch cackled.

"Fool!" she taunted him, "It doesn't matter that you have used your powers to blind me. _He_ can still see you. And as you can see, he can do you plenty of damage! If you continue to play so gently with him, he is going to kill you in no time at all. Not that I mind, of course. I am eager to continue the ritual to restore the true king!"

"The true king?" Aizen said mockingly, "You know that Diablo was never more than a crafty, but hateful creature, who would take little interest in maintaining the balance necessary to keep our worlds stable."

"Huh! Why worry about balancing worlds," hissed the witch, "when one can simply let them self destruct and rebuild them in any way he likes? We would prefer to begin from nothing!"

"You consider the vast collection of souls across the dimensions...nothing?" Aizen asked, flash stepping out of the path of Byakuya's sword, and moving subtly in the witch's direction.

"You are a fine one to prate to _me_ about not valuing the souls already living in our worlds, Aizen Sousuke! Did you not once plan the slaughter of a million souls, just to make a key to open the doors to the heavens?"

"I did," the king admitted, looking unrepentant, "At the time, I felt that it was what was needed to end what I viewed as a vacuum of leadership in the spirit dimension. After all, what good is it to pray to a god who does nothing to protect the souls that walk the worlds that he is guardian over? You might remember that the one who misguided me to that conclusion was, none other than your Diablo...hidden within the hougyoku and attempting to use me to invade the spirit dimension again after being defeated by the king and Hajime!"

"_Lies_!" snarled the witch, "_Excuses_! You pretend to be a better being than Diablo, but in truth, you are not! It was a mistake of birth that put you on the throne, one that my husband will soon undo!"

The witch inhaled sharply in surprise as Aizen whispered a command to his weapon, shattering the illusion he had used to draw closer to her, and appearing in front of her. She spun away, blood exploding from her shoulder as Aizen's blade struck a glancing blow.

"_Snake_!" The witch screamed at him, making the green tendrils around him attack at once, "What did you do? _He_ is supposed to be following your movements! How did you...?"

"That is simple," Aizen said calmly, invoking his power again and moving in for another strike, "I included Byakuya in my release, so that Kyouka Suigetsu misrepresented both my consort's movements and mine, and allowed me to draw closer to you."

He appeared in front of her, making her flee again, leaking more blood from a second slash he scored on her body as she moved. She disappeared suddenly and reappeared behind a pillar, panting in pain and breathing a spell to stop the bleeding. She set the plants about the room into a frenzy, peering out and watching as they stretched out about the room, seeking the king.

"Damn you!" she gasped, "Where are you?"

She fled again, taking more damage as Aizen appeared and slashed at her again, then made her body collapse into ash and reappeared on the other side of the room, spitting blood and howling in fury.

"You are fortunate," said Aizen, "I think it only fair to appear to you in reality before I strike. If I had not done that, you would already be dead. Now...agree to yield to me, and I will cease attacking you."

"Hah!" spat the witch, "You think that you are the only one not using your full abilities? Let me show you what Byakuya and I are capable of!"

The witch removed a long, wicked looking, red-bladed dagger and thrust it into the hole in her chest.

"Hidai...Midori!" she said in a low, malevolent voice.

Aizen watched in surprise as the greenery in the room swelled and grew until it simply swallowed Yumejaaka completely.

"What is this?" he asked softly.

"Now then," laughed the witch, "Both of us are capable of playing the hiding game. My power hides me within this mass of greenery so that you can no longer strike at me, but look at what I have in store for you!"

The king watched with widened eyes as new, black thorns erupted from within the seething mass of green tendrils that filled the room. Each thorn oozed with an odd, glowing fluid.

The witch's laughter morphed into a satisfied cackle as Aizen glared at the sea of thorns and tendrils, and made himself unseen again. He was forced to flash step away as Byakuya attacked with his blade, then slashed at him in a flurry of clawed hands and feet. The noble screamed again, forcing Aizen to shield and stealing enough of his attention that a green tendril curled around his leg and sought to pull him down onto one of the threatening looking spikes. He cut himself free with his blade, then flash stepped again as Byakuya stopped and gazed at him hatefully.

"Now then," said the witch, "I have invoked my powers. It is time for your consort to release his full power as well. Would you like to see it?"

She extended one of the tendrils, which wrapped around Byakuya's wrist and tightened for a moment, then released.

"Your Byakuya has been injected with a compound to make him fight anything and everything in his path that moves, with intent to destroy."

"Aren't you concerned that he will fall victim to your plants' toxin?" asked Aizen.

The witch laughed again.

"You won't trick me into giving anything away," she chided him, "You had best focus on survival now. Your lovely Byakuya is about to shower you with his sweet affection!"

Byakuya's already blazing reiatsu spiked again, as the noble loosed a horrifying shriek and began to grow in size. The feathers on his wings, and his clawed hands and feet caught fire as he rose into the air and flew towards Aizen, his blade held ready. As the noble closed in on him, the king stunned both him and the hidden witch by standing his ground and smiling disarmingly.

"My beloved," he said softly, "I see I am given no choice but to open your eyes forcefully."

"You cannot affect his mind!" screeched the witch's voice, "I have taken control of him. Nothing outside of his body will penetrate the lock on his mind."

"_Nothing from outside,_ you say?" Aizen repeated quietly, "Then...something from within?"

Aizen gazed lovingly at Byakuya as the consort's devilishly beautiful form hovered over him, poised to attack.

"What are you talking about?" objected the witch, "I told you. Nothing can penetrate his mind now. I have control!"

"You have control?" Aizen breathed in a mocking tone, "And nothing can penetrate his mind and steal it back? Is that what you think? Then, watch as I instruct you..."

He flash stepped forward suddenly, throwing himself inside Byakuya's guard and wrapping a hand around the noble's blackened blade. He laid his other hand on the noble's face and looked deeply into the odd, golden eyes.

"Byakuya," he whispered, sinking into the connection they had forged between them, "My beloved..."

Byakuya flinched and his eyes widened as his mind was suddenly inundated with memories.

"You see," said the king as Byakuya froze, unable to tear his eyes away from the storm of images that enveloped him, "I do not have to attempt to make a connection from the outside. Byakuya and I are soul bonded, and that means that some part of each of us already rests within the other. I needed only to invoke that part of myself that I entrusted to him to make him see."

"You _bastard_!" seethed the infuriated witch, making the tendrils around the two come to life again.

Aizen caught his breath sharply as the tendrils tore the noble away from him, and lunged at him from all directions, seeking to ensnare him. He flash stepped away, still focusing on the link between his mind and Byakuya's.

"Now," he said softly, "Watch me open his eyes and let him see who and where the true enemy is. You see, one of the things that we can do, being soul bonded, is to share thoughts and memories. And because he shared his memories of what you did to him when the two of you first met, I can bring those memories back to him."

Byakuya's eyes rounded as the memories flooded his mind, taking him back in time.

_"Impale!" said the witch's voice in Byakuya's mind._

_He felt something sharp enter his body and heard himself scream in pain. But somehow, he felt separated from the sensation, though not the nightmare of cognizance._

_"Impale…" the witch said again._

_Another hot, stabbing pain passed through his body, making it yield another scream, then another…and another. He counted seven times that his body was breached before the witch whispered into his ear. He could sense that his disassociated body was panting heavily and groaning. Her hands touched his face and his vision slowly returned. He found that seven red bolts now protruded from her body and had pierced his. His breath came out in short, clipped gasps and his legs threatened to collapse beneath him._

_"Wh-what are you d-doing?" he managed in a harsh whisper._

_The witch gave him a wide, toothy smile._

_"I have connected our spirit centers. And when I give the final command, a last bolt will impale your heart. When that happens, my power will flood your body and restore your spirit centers. Do not worry, Kuchiki taichou, the nightmare is almost over. Now, look into my eyes and do not look down!"_

_Byakuya took a shuddering breath and locked his eyes on hers. The witch's eyes looked back at him with challenge. She waited a long moment to tease him, then her lips parted and she whispered the last command._

_"Pierce and open!"_

The transformed consort screamed in fury, his reiatsu exploding around him, and blazing, firelit petals erupting from his body and bursting outward from his tensed, staring form. The witch's screams joined his as the noble's flaming petals arced around his king and brought themselves down on the witch's plants, burning, tearing and raking them until he revealed her, then burying her in a life-ending blast of fire, petals and cutting shrieks. Aizen watched with captivated eyes as the noble's power came down on the wide-eyed witch, first tearing her to pieces, then burning her broken body to ash. Byakuya was left standing over the pile of gray ashes, panting heavily and groaning fitfully.

"Byakuya," whispered Aizen, flash stepping forward.

Byakuya's head lifted and his golden eyes flickered unnaturally. The heavy swell of reiatsu around him faded, and the wings and halo that had formed on his body slowly burned away, leaving him with the pale white body, dark-clawed hands and feet, fangs and the pink, white and silver mask. He collapsed onto his knees, moaning in pain and holding his midsection.

Aizen flash stepped to him, and caught him as he fell.

"Easy, watashi no koi," he said gently, "The fighting is over. She is gone."

_But what happens now? _the king wondered, _I was not able to learn from her exactly how she did this to him. I will have to hope that once he has rested and we connect again, I will be able to divine the method for restoring him from seeing what it was she did...if, in fact, he was even cognizant of what happened._

"S-sou...suke!" Byakuya managed haltingly, holding onto the king's shoulder as Aizen knelt with him in the ashen remains of the witch's plants.

"Shh..." Aizen said, kissing the words away, "You need to rest."

"It...h-hurts...ins-side!"

Aizen looked around, searching for another exit, but failed to find one.

"Breathe slowly," he instructed the hollowfied noble, holding Byakuya close and sending soft pulses of stabilizing reiatsu into his abdomen, "You do not want to go into labor now. You must wait until we find a way to restore you. If you have our child now..."

_If he has the child now, it will at least be a hollow, and the child might still be affected by whatever Yumejaaka did to him! I need to stabilize him and get him back to the palace!_

He smiled as Byakuya's clawed hands clung to his shoulder and the noble rested his masked face against the king.

"That's right. Be calm. I will take you back to the palace and we will seek our answers there. You will be all right, Byakuya. And...this time..."

He rubbed his face lightly against the hollow mask.

"This time, our child will be all right. I will not let him or her die. I swear it."

_But even as I say the words, I wonder if they are true..._


	14. White Nightmare

**Chapter 14: White Nightmare**

Aizen Sousuke walked quietly into the open garganta and led a solemn and still hollowfied Byakuya, the just recently healed Renji, Grimmjow and Ichigo, and the newly returned Rukia, Nel and Orihime into the dark cavern. He felt a twinge of discomfort at the sight of his tragically lovely consort, his head bowed and eyes unbearably sad and his slender wrists bound in front of him with golden kido ropes.

_But there is nothing else that can be done. Byakuya, in this state, is far too dangerous to allow him to walk unfettered into the spirit dimension. I only hope that when we arrive at the palace, something can be done to restore him. Rukia gave a message to Urahara Kisuke to come to the palace, so at least we shall have his input. And although Byakuya cannot enter the Kuchiki archive in this state, the current clan leader and elders will be searching that place as well. There has to be hope for him. That the witch acknowledged that the process wasn't complete suggests this._

_But what will it take?_

_Byakuya..._

He slipped an arm around the consort, and Byakuya sighed resignedly and rested his head wearily on the king's shoulder as they walked through the too silent blackness. The members of the small group breathed a solemn sigh of relief upon reaching the dimension wall. Aizen paused and touched a fingertip to the back of one of Byakuya's bound hands as they reached the dimension wall, drawing the symbol that marked the noble as a royal prisoner. they continued out of the garganta and to the dimension wall, where Kuchiki Ginrei stood at the head of a group of royal guardsmen. The elder Kuchiki inhaled sharply and his eyes widened at the sight of his hollowfied grandson, but he moved forward and embraced Byakuya calmly.

"I am glad that you have returned," he said, bracingly, "Do not worry, Grandson. We will find a way to restore you. Right now, the brightest minds in the palace and in the Kuchiki family search the royal and Kuchiki family archives for anything that will help to give us answers. And your friends, Shihoin Yoruichi and Urahara Kisuke have arrived, and are helping in the search for information and analysis right now."

"Arigatou, to all of you," Byakuya whispered, without raising his eyes, "I am grateful."

"I think that Byakuya needs to be examined by a healer and allowed to rest now," said Aizen, turning him away from the others, "Go and get some rest yourselves. We don't know what our researchers will find, but I have a feeling that we will need to take some kind of action before this is over."

"Right," said Renji, looking back at the others, "Let's go, guys."

Byakuya watched them leave, then moved quietly with the king down the hallway. They came to the end, and Byakuya paused, looking at Aizen questioningly.

"What is it, my love?" the monarch asked.

"Why do you lead me this way?" Byakuya asked softly, "Neither the healing center nor the prisons are in this direction."

Aizen met his eyes squarely.

"Why would I send you to either?" he asked, "The healers can come to you, just as easily in our bedroom and..."

He paused and offered his consort a warm, lingering kiss, "You will not spend a moment confined in some cold, lonely cell. I would not do that to you."

"But Sousuke, I am...a hollow...an enemy life form!" Byakuya objected, "I tried to destroy you."

Aizen smiled.

"You did," he acknowledged, "but you also destroyed my enemy. You may be a hollow, but you still have a heart that guides you. Remember, the process wasn't finished."

Byakuya nodded briefly.

"The witch said that I had drain you to complete it. So...by that reasoning, to keep me with you...Sousuke, it is...liable to end in disaster. You should let them take me to the prison. It is safer that way."

Aizen's smile warmed, and he kissed the hollowfied noble again.

"I will do no such thing. Do you think that I cannot control even an Espada level hollow, Byakuya? I lived among the Espadas, even before I transcended. I am not concerned."

"But...?"

Aizen stopped him with a harder, more passionate kiss. Byakuya sank into his mouth, sucking hungrily at his tongue, and feeling an odd, feral ache inside. He pulled away, shivering and swallowed hard.

"Even now, when you kiss me, I feel the urge to devour you."

An expression of intense lust rose on the king's handsome face.

"Well, then," he said, lifting Byakuya off his feet, "We must do something to fulfill your craving for me."

"Sousuke..." the noble said breathlessly as he was carried into their bedroom and laid down on his back on their bed.

He watched with troubled eyes as Aizen placed a heavy seal all around the room, then returned to their bed and climbed in next to the noble. The king's hands captured his wrists and bound then securely above his head, then bound his ankles with his slender legs parted.

"Y-you are going to leave me alone like this...?" Byakuya asked, something akin to fear rising in his golden eyes.

"Of course not," Aizen chided him, "When I leave, I will unbind you. The entrances will be sealed, but Torio will be able to enter and leave the room to tend to you."

"But, what if I...? Sousuke, I already attacked him once!" the noble objected, "I do not want to hurt him. He has been my attendant for..."

"Shh," Aizen said, comforting him with another, deeper kiss, "You will not be able to harm him. Your own powers are sealed away, leaving just enough reiatsu to feed our child, and Torio will have a protective enchantment around him that will remove him from the room immediately if you should become violent. Do not worry, my love. You are safe. And the ones who attend you will be as well."

"What about our child?" Byakuya whispered, looking down at his swollen abdomen, "Is our child going to be safe as well? I could deliver at any time! And if I am still a hollow...?"

"Stop," Aizen said, kissing him and shaking his head reprovingly, "It does not help to dwell on it. And we are going to find our answers."

He paused as a healer tapped on the door, and then was allowed to pass through the seal. Byakuya rested quietly as the kind-eyed, old physician opened his yukata and examined him carefully. He took several vials of blood and reiatsu, then studied the baby's reiatsu.

"Is there anything you can tell us?" Byakuya asked softly.

The old healer smiled.

"I can tell you that there is still hope," he reassured the consort, "It seems that your enemy needed to slow your gestation, for some reason, and that is holding you back from delivering and giving us more time to find our answers. And that is encouraging. We want this to take longer so that we will have time to reach our answers and help you."

"Yes," agreed the consort.

"There now, we are finished for the time being," the healer said, tying Byakuya's yukata closed, then standing, "I will speak with the two of you when the analyses have been completed."

"Arigatou," said Aizen, "And one more thing. Is it safe for Byakuya and I to _be together_?"

The healer nodded.

"As long as your exertions are not great," he assured them, "There should be no effect on the developing child."

"Good," Aizen whispered as the healer left.

He turned back to his bound consort and smiled down at him, the lust returning to his features as Byakuya's wide, golden eyes looked back at him with that same feral hunger as before.

"Now then, where were we?" he asked, smirking, "I think that you were showing an interest in devouring me? Would you like me to indulge you?"

"Sousuke, how can you joke about this?" Byakuya asked sadly, "I do want to make love to you, but...my instincts also tell me to drain you! How are we supposed to...?"

"You cannot drain me whilst bound and having no powers," Aizen assured him, "You could, perhaps bite a bit with those wicked fangs of yours...but...that could be...intriguing."

Byakuya quivered as Aizen's hands opened his yukata, then captured his face as the king leaned down and kissed him. Byakuya groaned and closed his eyes as Aizen's reiatsu teased the hollowfied part of him, and he felt a powerful, lusty hunger coming on like a fever. He started to bite down on Aizen's mouth, but gave a discontented moan as the king pulled away before he could do any damage, then nudged his way below the consort's chin to attack the lovely, white flesh of his throat. One hand slid slowly down the noble's slender torso, stopping to caress the baby bump, then moving down further to invade and tease his privates.

"S-sousuke!" Byakuya hissed, his voice echoing oddly as arousal swept over him

Aizen commenced a slow descent down his restrained body, his narrowed eyes enjoying the view of Byakuya's pale face, written over with warring feelings of passion and killing rage.

"You are...so incredibly beautiful, Byakuya!" the king whispered, sucking an erect nipple into his mouth and tormenting it as his wetted fingers began to preparethe consort. Byakuya gave a heavy, aroused moan that ended in a near growl that made Aizen's loins throb warningly.

"I can feel how much you want me inside you," the king breathed hotly onto his skin, making him thrash and growl more darkly, "And at the same time, I feel how fervently you want to suck the blood from my veins. So...erotic!"

He sank into Byakuya's navel, licking and sucking, raking his nails down the noble's back as it arched and his body rose up to meet his lover's devilishly fiery and eager tongue. A more frantic hiss escaped the hollowfied noble, and he pulled hard against his bonds as Aizen's fingers found the pleasure center inside him and stimulated it vigorously, while his mouth attacked the noble's piqued nether region. Still teasing the writhing consort, he caressed the noble's inflamed member, making a warning shudder rake the noble's trapped body, and a fiercer snarl escape him.

Aizen looked into the hateful and nearly senseless, golden eyes and smiled, loosening the seal slightly to allow Byakuya to shift into the dark, angelic form he had taken while fighting in Las Noches.

"Lovely," Aizen panted, a hard, throbbing ache in his loins as he adjusted the consort's bonds to turn him so that he rested on his bound forearms and widespread knees with his black, silken wings raised and fluttering.

Byakuya loosed a blinding shriek, and to Aizen's surprise, he felt a few sharp, black petals cut into his back. He plunged into Byakuya's shaking body, laying over his back and sharing a barrage of biting kisses with the noble as he thrust heavily into him. Byakuya's dark reiatsu burgeoned threateningly beneath the seal as the two continued their almost violent coupling. More petals stung Aizen's flesh, and he watched, completely enchanted as Byakuya fed voraciously on the small drops of his blood, whining as he sensed the reiatsu he so longed for, but was held back from stealing. Intrigued, Aizen let a small tendril of reiatsu escape him and watched raptly as Byakuya inhaled it, and his body went taut, quivering at the cruel, teasing taste of the other man.

"I am s-sorry," Aizen managed, resting his damp face against the back of a ghostly white, sweating shoulder, "You are just so enthralling this way. It is a torment, yes...but...you are still...so very enchanting, Byakuya!"

Byakuya's body moved easily with his now, and the noble released soft, soulful sighing sounds as Aizen continued his deep thrusts, closing his eyes and letting himself be carried off on those sweet, hypnotic sounds of pleasure. He barely felt Byakuya's head turn, or when his fangs sought the vulnerable flesh of his throat. Petal soft lips brushed lightly in preparation and Aizen was nearly so gone on the waves of arousal and approaching release that he barely had time to pull away before the noble could bite down and begin to feed on him again.

"Ah..." the king panted, rising pleasure making his voice shake softly, "V-very crafty, my love...using erotic hypnosis. To think how close you came to being successful, with a man whose power is hypnosis! Exceptional! S-so...! So...B-byakuya!"

Aizen lifted himself off of the noble's back, throwing his head back and loosing a groan of intense pleasure as he thrust in deeply, one last time and released into his hollowfied lover's quaking form. Byakuya gave a shattering scream of bliss, the edges of sound raking both Aizen's skin and his own and leaving small streaks of redness all over the two as they collapsed onto the bed, side by side. The lovely, feathery black wings that had appeared on the noble's body, gleamed for a moment, then faded, and Aizen kissed him lightly and strengthened the seal on his powers again.

Several minutes passed with the two lying still, catching their breath and looking dazedly into each other's eyes. Slowly, Byakuya's eyes softened and regained their cognizance. They widened again in alarm as he spotted the still evident traces of blood on Aizen's skin.

"Sousuke!" he exclaimed, sounding alarmed.

"Don't concern yourself," the king said, blithely, "You were amazing, my love."

"I was trying to devour you!" Byakuya whispered in dismay as he recalled, "How could you...?"

"I wasn't going to let you hurt the baby, yourself...me. I only wanted to feel your power."

Byakuya's eyes took on the sad look that had weighted them down before.

"But...that isn't me," he objected, "It is the..."

"It is you...hollowfied," Aizen corrected him, "But it is still very much _you_, my love."

"Fool!" Byakuya hissed angrily, "You _know_ that the ritual associated with the return of Diablo involves me devouring you! Why would you take chances like that?"

Aizen kissed his trembling lips bracingly.

"I took no chances. I knew exactly what I was doing."

"Do you think this is some kind of joke?" Byakuya asked, a hurt look overtaking his face, "Are you really enjoying me this way? Do you want me to _stay_ this way?"

The king frowned and brushed away a tear that had risen in the corner of one still proud eye. He captured Byakuya's comely face in both hands and froze him with a look of intense affection.

"I was not playing games, my love," he said, his face calm and serious, "I was trying to make you understand that it doesn't matter to me that she made you a hollow. You were beautiful as a shinigami, as a transcendent, and you are beautiful as a hollow. I don't mean for you to stay that way, but I would like to take the sadness out of your eyes, if only for a while. Your eyes are sad too often, my love. I only sought to make them change."

Byakuya took a shuddering breath and nodded.

"I am sorry," he said softly, "I misunderstood."

He gave Aizen a tentative smile.

"I know. But you understand now, ne?"

"I do. And I will try to endure more gracefully."

Aizen shook his head reprovingly.

"I do not want you to pretend with me. If your heart aches, then unburden it here. If your soul screams, then let me breathe it in and make it quiet again. And if you find yourself lost, you are never farther than my heart. Be at peace. Rest. Heal. We are going to find our way out of this."

Byakuya let out a soft, clipped laugh.

"What is it?" Aizen asked, meeting his eyes curiously.

"Oh...I almost expected you to ask me to trust you," the noble confessed.

Aizen's fingers slid through his hair and he kissed the troubled consort chastely on the forehead.

"We will find our way out of this," he promised, "_Trust me_."

And despite everything, Byakuya found himself wanting to do so.


	15. Search for Answers

**Chapter 15: Search for Answers**

**(Thanks to ra7matigori2 (so glad you like!), Rosydigzzz23 (More is delivered!), D-chan (Yes, that Aizen is so romantic, when he's not busy being wicked!), Anonymous (So glad you are enjoying!), Firebirdever (Yes, Aizen is naughty and he bring out the naughty in Bya too! He will comfort while Bya's feeling down, but he'll have his sexy consort whistling a happier tune soon!), and SextBVirgo (Ah, you are so sweet! Here is more for you to love!)**

Byakuya rose slowly out of sleep, registering first that he had, as promised, been left unbound, and that he was alone in his and the king's bed. But although it felt lonely to wake up without Aizen's arms around him, as he was still a dangerous hollow, it was also somewhat of a relief. He heard a soft footstep and looked up to find Torio setting a tea tray down at his bedside. He looked into the young man's eyes, fully expecting them to be filled with fear of him, but was stunned to find only warmth and concern there.

"Good morning, Kuchiki-sama," Torio greeted him as always, "I hope you slept well."

A swell of affection and deep gratitude passed through the transformed noble, and he met Torio's fearless eyes with a calmer heart.

"Good morning, Torio," he greeted the young man, "I slept very well, arigatou."

"I've brought your tea, and breakfast will be along soon. I..."

"Torio," Byakuya said, stopping the young man mid-sentence, "I want to apologize to you...for hurting you. I...I am..."

Torio shook his head firmly and looked down at his clasped hands.

"It wasn't your fault, sir," he said, his voice shaking very slightly, "I know that Byakuya-sama would never want to hurt me. That witch did something awful to you. Everyone is committed to helping you to regain your own form, sir. And _I_ am committed to taking care of you and the unborn heir as best I can...because it is all that I am able to do for you. If I could...I would...be in the Royal Archive, searching for the way to help you. If there was an enemy to fight, I would stand with you. But since I cannot do any of those things, let me take care of you. Let me be a comfort to you. Please."

Byakuya felt a very soft throb of warmth inside and put a hand to his chest, where his heart had been, his eyes closing to hide the rise of tears.

"Your assistance," he said softly, "is very deeply appreciated...Torio. Again, I thank you."

Torio smiled and turned to go.

"You are welcome, sir," he answered.

He glanced over at the open balcony doors.

"His majesty told me that the shield extends onto the balcony. I can set up your breakfast service there so you can enjoy more light and fresh air from the gardens, if you wish."

Unexpected warmth flooded Byakuya inside, making that open place in his chest throb oddly again.

"Yes...that would be good, I think."

He watched quietly as Torio exited the room, then took his tea and walked out onto the balcony. It felt strange, standing there, looking down to where the witch had awaited him, and feeling again, the blackness that had moved his hand, caused him to harm his innocent attendant, and had moved his feet to bring him to the witch's side.

_I did have some ability to fight the impulses, but the bit of Diablo that rested within the pendant used whatever means it had to so that it could overpower my will. And now, his evil is fused with my noble soul. At first, I despaired, because I felt my soul falling. However, even though my soul began to fall, it has not fallen all of the way. I feel that there is still a pathway back. But...even though that is true and there is still hope, I feel danger as well. The witch is not here to complete whatever ritual was in play, but that does not mean that it cannot be completed. Still, I wonder if the completion of this will require another witch, hollow or other creature to intervene, or if the process is already in motion and will naturally proceed without intervention by another._

_So many questions..._

But the tormenting questions disappeared from his mind for one beautiful moment as Aizen's arms wrapped around him from behind and his husband's warm lips pressed kisses along the side of his neck.

"Sousuke," he whispered, grateful for a moment when he could close his eyes and feel close to the man who was the center of his world and the one who ruled the heart he knew must still somehow exist despite the hole in his chest, "Do you not have duties to attend to? I am all right. I am...handling my situation much more equitably now that I am not so worried about harming anyone."

"I am between meetings of council and meetings with the ones come to scour the royal library and the Kuchiki family archive for information. Your cousin, Tetsuya, has arrived and joined Ginrei in the search for information. Do not worry, Byakuya, we will find answers."

"I believe that," the noble said, turning in his husband's arms, "although I must admit that I would feel much more useful if I could join in the search for information...do something to move the investigation forward."

"Actually," said the king, "Urahara-san said that he may be able to craft a device that will provide the same protection to everyone around you that the shielding on your room is now providing for Torio. He is working on that as we speak, so you may not have to be locked up in here for much longer."

"I am glad for that," said the noble, accepting another warm kiss, "I will be patient."

"Good," said Aizen, taking the noble's soft, hungry lips again, and running his tongue lightly alone the sharp fangs.

Byakuya shivered softly at the feral shudder in his body and pulled away.

"D-don't do that, please."

Aizen smiled.

"My apologies, Byakuya. I am afraid that I can't help but embrace you in whatever form. But I will try to contain myself, as it is distressing to you. But come now, will you accompany me for a walk in the gardens?"

Byakuya let out a skeptical breath.

"You are attempting to placate me now," he said, frowning.

Aizen shook his head gently.

"No. I am attempting not to let a moment pass in which I do not express to you who you are to me."

His hands captured Byakuya's lovely, ghostly face, and he gazed down into the red-golden eyes.

"Come for a walk in the gardens with me. It will be better for you than remaining here and feeding your melancholy."

Byakuya hesitated, then let out a soft breath and smiled.

"Very well, Sousuke, I will go with you."

"Good," Aizen said approvingly, "And we will have breakfast together when we return."

He slipped an arm around the noble, kissing him on the cheek as they left the room and passed through the barrier, then flash stepped down into the gardens.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hurry up, will you?" Renji complained, "Byakuya's grandfather said that they needed help searching the royal archive for information. You two keep meandering along like that and Byakuya and his baby are both going to end up being hollows forever!"

"Keep your pants on," muttered Grimmjow, "I was just wishing my boyfriend here a good morning. I was out on recon last night and didn't get to curl up with him then."

"Augh, please spare me, okay? I don't wanna hear about your sex life!"

"At least I _have_ one," Grimmjow quipped, earning a nasty glare from the redhead.

"S-sorry, Renji," Ichigo said, smacking Grimmjow, "He may not be a hollow anymore, but he's a little rough around the edges, and he has a big mouth."

"A big mouth, eh?" said Grimmjow, as the three turned and started towards the archive, "You weren't complaining about my mouth yesterday before I left. As I recall, you were saying that..."

"Stop, will you?" complained Renji, shaking his head, "You wanna fuck around, that's great, but some of us just don't want to hear about it!"

"Aww, poor Renji, so frustrated," Grimmjow teased, "Doesn't want to hear about people actually having sex with a partner as opposed to just jacking off alone."

"Knock it off, Grimmjow!" yelled Ichigo.

"You know what," Renji said, looking disgusted, "You wanna talk dirty, take Kurosaki back to your room and have at him. But leave me the fuck alone, you annoying sack of..."

Renji broke off as he passed through the archive door and into the king's library, and a moment later collided roughly with another person, knocking both of them onto the floor. Grimmjow started to laugh, but stopped and broke into a wide grin as he and Ichigo watched Renji's red brown eyes lock with a pair of wide, sapphire eyes, then ignite.

"Ah, hell, sorry about that," the redhead said, standing and helping the other young man to his feet, "I...uh..."

He tried to keep talking, but could not find the words. His stunned eyes took in the man's lovely face and slender body, and the presence of the delicate pale serpentine kenseiken and matching silken scarf.

"You are..."

"Tetsuya," the young noble said, accepting Renji's hand as the redhead helped him back onto his feet, "I am Kuchiki Tetsuya, his royal highness, Byakuya-sama's cousin and initiate head of household for the Kuchiki clan."

"I-initiate head of household," repeated Renji, his eyes widening, "Shit, now I'm _really _sorry. That was very clumsy of me."

"Oh, no harm done," Tetsuya said, shaking his head dismissively, "And I was coming to look for you anyway. There is simply too much to research and not enough eyes. I was hoping that you would join me in the search. Byakuya-sama always told me that you were useful in searching the records at the division, so I wager you could help me save some time."

"Y-yeah, sure, no problem."

Tetsuya glanced at Grimmjow and Ichigo.

"You two are welcome to join us," Tetsuya added.

Ichigo opened his mouth to accept the noble's invitation, but was stopped by a hand over his mouth.

"Well," said Grimmjow, wincing as Ichigo bit his offending hand. "Ah, Ichigo and I needed to check in with our group leaders. We can join you later, but...you two go ahead."

"Are you...?" Tetsuya began.

"See ya.'" Grimmjow said, grabbing Ichigo and flash stepping away.

Renji and Tetsuya faced each other in silence, each feeling the same slight burn on their cheeks and throats. Tetsuya cleared his throat softly.

"Well, we had best get started. I think this will take all day and perhaps much of the night."

He blushed cutely as he realized how the words could be misconstrued.

"That's okay," chuckled Renji, falling in with the handsome younger man, "I don't have anywhere to be."

"Oh," said Tetsuya, carefully keeping his eyes averted, "That is...good."

Grimmjow and Ichigo watched from behind a desk, stacked with books, laughing softly as Renji and Tetsuya walked away together.

"Okay," said Grimmjow, "How long do you give him before he gets himself a piece of _that_ Kuchiki?"

"Shut up," chuckled Ichigo, "You're such an asshole sometimes."

"I think a few days, right? Maybe a week. Not more than that, although we are talking about Abarai Renji here."

"That's Abarai _taichou_," Ichigo corrected him, "And why do you care so much about who Renji's seeing? You still mad we couldn't get him to go to bed with us?"

"Eh, maybe a little, but I don't need him. I've got all I need right here," he said, wrapping his arms around Ichigo and nipping at his lips, "C'mon, let's go back to our room for awhile, ne Kurosaki?"

"Eh...we're supposed to be helping Renji and Tetsuya with the research," the youth objected.

"Oh, I think they have it under control," said Grimmjow, "Renji was only dragging us along so he wouldn't be bored in there. But I guarantee you, no way that guy is bored right now!"

"Not being locked up in that section of the archive alone with Kuchiki Tetsuya," agreed Ichigo.

"So, you'll come back with me?" Grimmjow asked, grinning.

"Sure thing," said Ichigo, "But afterwards, we really do need to do more to help."

"All right, we'll help...after we mess around a little, okay?" offered Grimmjow.

"You're crazy," Ichigo said, smiling and shaking his head.

"That's right," said the former Sexta Espada, "I'm crazy for you."

XXXXXXXXXX

"Wouldn't you agree that this is much better than being locked up in that room?" asked Aizen, stopping Byakuya as they came to the healing pool and sinking into his fanged mouth languidly. Byakuya accepted his kisses readily, but paused, his eyes locking on the reflection in the healing pool's placid surface. Aizen followed the path of his eyes and sighed softly.

"I see you still stubbornly resist distraction," he commented, keeping his hands on either side of his hollowfied mate's comely face, "but if you think that I will simply stand here and allow you to sink into melancholy again, you are wrong."

Byakuya started to answer, but caught his breath in surprise as Aizen tugged free the tie at his waist and bared him then himself, then lifted Byakuya off his feet and carried him down into the pool. He felt Byakuya shiver, and looked into the noble's eyes questioningly.

"What is it?" Aizen asked.

"It is just that...I was remembering what happened before," Byakuya responded, leaning his head on his husband's shoulder, "When we were here and I began to hol..."

He broke off as Aizen sank the two of them down into the water and invaded his mouth with several heavy, penetrating kisses. He tried again to speak, but was stopped by more kisses, and the warm, pleasing feeling of his husband's hands exploring his uncovered flesh.

"S-sousuke!" he managed, as they sank down deeper into the water and the noble wrapped his legs around the king.

Aizen didn't hesitate, but positioned himself and entered his troubled mate swiftly, then commenced a slower, but deeply intense thrusting, while gazing down into Byakuya's feral, red-golden eyes. He said no more, but only spoke everything with eyes that devoured, comforting hands that caressed his consort's too pale skin, with hungry lips and tongue that invaded, captured and calmed...with the heavy thrust of his hips and the deep penetration of the noble's body.

_I never knew love the way that this man loves me. No other would dare touch me in this state, but this man knows no fear and lets no one and nothing keep him from his desires._

_But Sousuke..._

_What will happen if..._

Aizen's fingers sank into his hair and the thrust of his hips quickened and intensified. Byakuya reeled as the king's penetrating member found the pleasure center inside him and suddenly made all of his worries disappear. Seething heat invaded his body, and sent him into blinding, blissful spasms of pleasure. He panted into the king's marauding mouth as Aizen kissed him again, then pulled away and brushed several damp strands out of the noble's eyes.

"Is that better, love?" Aizen asked.

Byakuya started to answer, but stopped again as he spotted movement in the bushes around them. An odd, icy breeze swept over them, and Aizen held Byakuya protectively close as three spirit demons emerged from the bushes and stood at the edge of the pool.

"What do you want with us?" asked the king, "You know I could destroy you in an eyeblink. Why are you here?"

Aizen's eyes widened as Byakuya's body began to pulsate softly with wicked red light and the demons laughed softly. Byakuya made a low sound of distress and his hand flew to the hollow hole as the red light continued to pulse around him and the hole grew inexplicably smaller.

Palace sirens began to wail, and Aizen glared at the smiling demons.

"What is this? What are you doing?"

"We are preparing," said one of the three, "For the return...of _the spirit demon, Diablo_!"


	16. Written in Blood

**Chapter 16: Written in Blood**

**(Ah, I must apologize sincerely to Aizenfans! I have been too lax in working on these because of the warm Bya/Ren fuzzies that have attacked my brain as cold weather set in. But...this should prove that Aizen/Bya is certainly a hot contender when the weather is chill! Enjoy! And thanks so much to the Aizenfans reading and loving this! Spunky loves ya' right back! :) *sighs* On to the next chapter...)**

_"What is this? What are you doing?" Aizen demanded, holding Byakuya protectively against him._

_"We are preparing," said one of the three, "For the return...of the spirit demon, Diablo!"_

The demons continued to gaze quietly at the noble as the palace guardsmen poured into the area, their weapons ready. They moved forward, prepared to attack, but stopped as one of the demons spoke again.

"Stop. Do not attack us. By right of the ancient Blood Treaty, we have the right to claim a demon soul."

"But Byakuya is not a demon," argued Aizen, "He is a shinigami transcendent, violated against his will and made a hollow."

The demon smiled.

"He is no hollow now."

Aizen stared as Byakuya's hand that had been covering the shrinking hole in his chest moved aside, revealing that the hole had indeed disappeared.

"You bastard!" Aizen hissed, "What did you _do_ to him? How did you do this?"

The demon laughed.

"It was not us," he said, glaring at Byakuya, "but a blood oath taken by the demon Yumejaaka, when she was soul bound to the high demon, Diablo."

"What are you talking about? Why would Byakuya be bound by an agreement between two demons? That makes no sense."

"Do not worry," laughed the demon, "It will make sense to you soon. As you see, your consort is no longer a hollow, but has taken a demon form. And the reason for this is because Yumejaaka was successful in fusing the piece of Diablo's heart she possessed with the consort's soul. It was, in fact, her failsafe in case she failed in her mission, and was killed. You see, the oath that she took upon becoming Diablo's consort was that because he gifted her with a piece of his demon heart, when she died, that part of him that he had given would return to the demons upon her death. She was stricken down, but she was made a hollow, and while that was true, the Blood Oath could not be completed. But when she failed to complete the ritual to revive her husband as a hollow, and you killed her, the piece of Diablo that she fused with your husband's soul was ceded back to the demons. Therefore, we have every right now to take back what belongs to us!"

"You are forgetting one thing," Aizen said, his gaze icy and threatening, "While you have the right to that part of Diablo that has been fused with Byakuya's soul, you do not have the right to Byakuya, himself. He has taken vows and bound himself to me. I am the master of this man's soul, not you!"

"Ah..." said the demon, "but...because Diablo's heart is fused with his soul, you see that he has become one of us. He is now a demon, and he falls under the rules of the Blood Treaty we made with the soul king's first incarnation. Any demon soul demanded by the tribe must be yielded to the tribe within three days of the demand. And we have officially demanded that Aizen Byakuya be turned over to us. You have no choice but to either surrender him within three days, or invite open war."

Aizen caught his breath and stared as legions of demons appeared, covering the hillsides near the palace, darkening the skies and filling the air around them with dark snarls and growls.

"As you can see, our numbers have grown, Aizen, king of the three worlds! While your father ignored us and played down the threat we posed, we planned and made ourselves stronger...so that when the time came, we would be able to crush you. We have been unable to wage open war, because the enchantment brought on by that treaty held us back. But...if you violate the terms of the treaty and refuse to give that demon to us, then the conditions will be broken, and we will be freed to attack! Is that what you want? Do you want everyone here to be massacred, Aizen Sousuke?"

Aizen's hands, which still held on tightly to Byakuya, quivered with rage, and the reiatsu exploded around him. He glared back at the demon, his eyes flaring almost red with fury.

"You have delivered your message," he said in a low, threatening voice, "Now, get out of here before I annihilate you!"

"Huh..." the demon huffed, "You might manage to snuff out a few of us, but I doubt that you could kill us all on your own, little king! And if you strike without cause, that also violates the treaty and will rain hell down upon you, and everyone within the palace."

"Get out!" snapped Aizen, "I will not be in violation of the treaty in disposing of the ones of you who trespass here!"

The demons laughed wickedly and flash stepped away, leaving the guardsmen glaring after them, and Byakuya pressed tightly up against his husband, his darkened reiatsu humming softly around him. Aizen turned and looked down into Byakuya's tormented eyes.

"What are we going to do, Sousuke?" he asked breathlessly, "You know that if I am surrendered to them, they will force the birth of our child, and he will be Diablo reborn! But if I do not go to them, then they will wage war on the palace! You saw the numbers of brethren they command. The palace may hold out for a time against a siege by such forces, but..."

"There will be no siege," insisted Aizen, climbing out of the water and bringing Byakuya with him.

They stood quietly as their attendants dried them and wrapped them in clean yukatas.

"What do you mean? You _heard_ them!" Byakuya exclaimed, "They made an official claim. We only have..."

"Three days," Aizen finished, "And that being the case, we will find a way, in that time, to free you from the fusion with that piece of Diablo's heart!"

Byakuya swallowed hard, pressing close to the king as the guardsmen gazed expectantly at them, and Kuchiki Ginrei stepped out from among them.

"My lord, we will begin preparing the palace for siege conditions. While I, too, have confidence that we will find an answer, I feel we must proceed as though the siege will occur.

"I agree," Aizen said, calm returning to his voice, "Have the Royal Guard and Norite manage the outer defenses and my Hogosha will cover the palace, itself."

"Yes, my lord," said Ginrei, bowing and moving away.

Byakuya studied the faces of the men around them and lowered his eyes again.

_They are unsettled. And as well they should be. I am, after all, a demon. And as I learned when I was made over into a hollow, that means that I am going to have the instincts and reactions of a demon. They are right to not trust me. I cannot trust myself..._

"Come, Byakuya," Aizen said, slipping an arm around him.

They left the gardens and returned to their bedroom, where Aizen sent the attendants out and set a privacy shield in place. Byakuya sat down on the bed and waited quietly. Aizen completed the enchantment for the shield, then joined him on the bed, looking into his eyes again.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly, "Well, let me be more specific. I know that what happened has to have been a shock, but are you coping well enough, considering? You are...not going to insist that we should just give you up to them?"

"No," Byakuya assured him, "although I am sure that some will conclude that before this is over, I know that the answer is not so simple. We cannot let our child be taken from us. And we must not allow Diablo to be reborn. But I do not know what we _are_ able to do. I think that much now lies in the hands of the ones searching the archive for answers."

Aizen nodded in affirmation.

"Every historian in the palace has converged on the archive, and your cousin, Tetsuya, will be going into the protected vault today to search the more dangerous tomes that are stored there."

"That is good," Byakuya said, sounding relieved, "If an answer is to be found there, then he will find it. But...he has someone to protect him, no? Some of the artifacts and tomes stored in the protected section are dangerous just to pass close to..."

"He has Abarai taichou with him," reported Aizen, earning a raised eyebrow from the noble, "I know that he assisted you, not only with sixth division research, but also some within your own archive. I would have suggested Urahara Kisuke to accompany him, but Kisuke is busy at work with our most capable scientists and kido specialists, working on multiple projects...enchanted defenses, security measures to keep you safe, and to protect the ones who attend you, and as well, anything that might positively affect your condition or separate you from that piece of Diablo's heart. I assure you, everything that can be done is being done."

Byakuya looked across the room and through the glass balcony doors to the strangely tranquil day that was passing outside.

"I know that, Sousuke," he answered softly, "Thank you. But...you must have things that need doing...more than remaining here to offer comfort to me. I am all right, I assure you. I am coping as well as can be expected...not that I do not appreciate the gesture."

"Ah," the king said, a sly smile overtaking his lips, "but in actuality, there is little to nothing that can be done by me right now. Your grandfather and the Norite taichou are preparing the palace and grounds for siege conditions, and your Hogosha fukutaichou is seeing to the plans you laid out for use in emergencies. The King's Council is preparing a report for me, but will likely not finish for several hours. In fact, there is little for me to do at this time. Which means that you are not keeping me from anything, Byakuya, my love. And right now, I would like nothing more than to undress and lie down naked with you for a while. We will have plenty of time to concern ourselves with the rest. It will come as it will. But as inevitable as that is, what is between us is equally inevitable. Come then, my consort...let us be at ease with each other."

Byakuya smiled sadly.

"How can you be at ease with me, Sousuke? Aren't you worried that I might attack you while you sleep, or at least try to feed on your life force to finish the process of bringing Diablo back? I am a demon. Whatever my own convictions are, I am bound to be tempted by the instincts and urges that go along with that."

"Well," the king said, reaching out and pulling at the tie on the consort's yukata, making it fall open and revealing the sinfully lovely demon body underneath, "whatever your instincts and urges, there are protections in place. And even despite them, you must remember that my consort has not ceased to exist."

He reached out to caress the noble's rounded belly, making Byakuya sigh longingly and seek the comfort of his husband's warm arms.

"You have instincts as this child's bearer, as my Hogosha taichou, my consort and my lover. I think that these will be stronger than what corruption that piece of demon heart can bring to you."

"I hope you are right, Sousuke," Byakuya said wearily.

"I _am_ right," Aizen said, regaining his cocky smirk, "And...in addition to being right, I am exceptionally hungry for my lover's touch. We have been separated too much lately by our trials and our duties, Byakuya."

Byakuya glared at him out of the corner of one red-golden eye.

"Do remember that my hands, though still soft, are clawed," the noble warned him, "and my teeth are sharp enough to do damage if I begin to lose control of my demonborn thirst for your reiatsu."

"Hmmm," sighed Aizen, closing his eyes and rolling onto his back, opening his body to his slightly flushed mate, "I will try not to forget that."

Still wearing a disapproving expression, Byakuya turned so that he straddled Aizen's naked body on hands and knees. He claimed the king's mouth, opening his own wide and closing his eyes as his tongue plunged in deeply and Aizen's curled playfully around it, teasing him in deeper as the monarch's hands caressed the noble's aroused genitals shamelessly. Byakuya's heart quickened at the stimulation, and a growl of contentment escaped him as he left Aizen's mouth and blazed a trail of biting kisses down the other man's shapely torso. He lingered on the hardened nipples, rolling each around in his hot, wet mouth and threatening them with his fangs, before torturing Aizen's soft belly with long, savory licks, then kissing his way down the line of fine, brown hairs, to his aroused nether region

Byakuya lowered his head, his eyes locked on his royal lover's as his clawed hands parted the king's thighs, and he knelt between them, still on hands and knees, his back sweetly arched and nearly purring with arousal as he lathed his blazing tongue slowly over Aizen's exposed genitals, then nibbled warningly at the man's sensitive inner thighs before using his devilish tongue to make the king moan and shiver.

"B-byakuya!" Aizen panted, reaching down to thread his fingers through the consort's silken hair and to gently encourage the penetrating exploration of his nether region, "Gods, Byakuya...ah...you will kill me!"

The noble turned demon gave him an exceedingly wicked smile.

"Perhaps," he hissed softly, his red-golden eyes glinting, "And what will you do, _Aizen-sama_? Will you stop me? Or do you find this much too pleasant a way to finally die?"

"Hmmm," sighed the monarch, his eyelids fluttering as Byakuya lovingly attacked again, making him moan loudly and raise his hips off the bed, "I think that someone has forgotten who is king. Do you need a reminder, my love?"

He surged up onto his knees, dragging Byakuya into his arms and plunging into the noble's mouth to slowly enjoy the mingled tastes that had gathered there. Byakuya's hands trembled as he held onto the king's shoulders, wanting to clench them tightly, but not wanting to draw blood. But as Aizen's marauding mouth recklessly plundered his and the king's fingers invaded and began to prepare him, a feral whine rose from deep within his throat and his claws sank in slightly, drawing small droplets of blood and making Aizen snarl with intense arousal.

He turned the noble onto his hands and knees again, taking up a position behind him and leaning over his slender, white back to bite down and suck hard, leaving a trail of red markings on the back of his exposed neck and down onto one pale shoulder, making Byakuya writhe underneath him, hissing with carnal pleasure.

"This..." Aizen breathed hotly into the dazed and panting consort's flushed ear as he shifted and plunged deeply into Byakuya's lovely, yielded body, "This is the kind of passion that will always exist between us. No matter what our enemies do to try to separate us...no matter how they try to undo us, we will always...always find our way back into each other's arms."

He laid across Byakuya's sweating back, his chin hooked over one of the noble's shoulders, coaxing hard, open mouthed kisses from him as his hips thrust forcefully and at an almost brutal pace. He felt Byakuya's body shudder warningly, and his lips curled into a dastardly smile. He reached down, halting him just short of completion, and bringing out the full fury of the demon he had become. Byakuya thrashed and growled furiously as Aizen's body went taut against his back and the king's seething release filled him inside. His chest heaved as Aizen rested for a moment, his heart still pounding with satedness and a flash of dizziness passing over him. Then, he pushed the noble down onto his back and tormented him endlessly, then watched closely as the consort exploded into orgasm.

Aizen's wanton mouth smiled as Byakuya seemed to sink into a lovely, breathless haze.

He gave a shivering sigh and blinked sleepily as Aizen returned to his mouth and kissed him more slowly, sharing the warm, savory flavors of his explorations. Byakuya fed quietly on his mouth, then curled into his arms and started to drift off, looking out the glass doors and into the pretty, blue sky.

He made a soft sound of contentedness as Aizen's hand slowly caressed his round belly, and he felt the reiatsu within him begin to stir restlessly. He bit at his suddenly quivering lips as he registered the lingering threat of Diablo's presence within his body, but breathed in the warm, calming scents of their lovemaking and forced the worries away.

_There is nothing to be gained by worrying about it. Our fates will play out soon enough and we will have our answers._

_Whatever happens..._

_Sousuke..._

_I will make peace with it...as long as we have each other._

"I love you."

Aizen smiled.

"I burn for you."

_Yes._

_Together like this..._

_We will find our way._


	17. Hope in the Shadows

**Chapter 17: Hope in the Shadows**

**(Time to revive and finish the stunning sequel to The King's Sacrifice! We're almost there, so I plan to keep the chapters rolling now. Enjoy!)**

"Are you still with me, Renji-san?" Tetsuya asked quietly, his eyes still fixed on the aged text in front of him.

"Huh? Wha...? Oh...yeah!" muttered the redhead, jumping awake at the sound of the noble's voice, "S-sorry. Just started to drift a little. But, I'm here. I'm good."

"That is good to know," Tetsuya answered, smirking, "You know, Abarai taichou, there are literally hundreds of very interesting rumors of strange things happening in this archive...strange, and sometimes _frightening_ things."

He watched, enjoying the redhead's reaction out of the corner of one sapphire eye.

"I am glad that you are here. While not a superstitious person, I know enough of the king's archive to be aware of its dangers and to respect them."

"Ah...uh-huh," Renji agreed, looking around anxiously and making Tetsuya's smile widen by nudging closer to him, where he sat at one of the four large reading tables in the room, "Well, you can depend on me, Kuchiki-san."

Tetsuya's eyes narrowed.

"I told you to call me Tetsuya."

"Ah, Tetsuya-san," Renji chuckled, "Sheesh, you're so much like Byakuya sometimes. He could stay up half the night, cranking out division reports, then be up, first thing in the morning. Me? I could never get up early in the morning, and I never beat that guy to work! Not once!"

"Well, having been Byakuya's personal bodyguard, I had to make myself comfortable, keeping those same hours."

"Y'know, I don't know how you learned to hide yourself so well when you were watching him. I know I suck at reiatsu sensing, but I should have at least caught you there once. What's your secret?"

"Hmmm," Tetsuya said, blinking slowly, "I don't know if I should reveal that to you. I must be very certain you are a trustworthy man before sharing the secrets of my powers."

"Well, _you _might not know me so well, but..."

"Not personally," Tetsuya confirmed, "but you were close to Byakuya, so I made myself familiar with everything about you, Renji-san."

"_Everything_?" Renji asked, smirking.

"You would be surprised," the noble said coyly.

"Well, that kinda puts me at an unfair disadvantage," Renji said, leaning closer, "I think it's not right, you knowing so much about me and me being so much in the dark about you."

"Well," chuckled Tetsuya, "How else would I keep your interest, other than maintaining an air of mystery about me? Without that, you'd likely get bored with me very quickly."

"No way," laughed Renji, shaking his head, "I don't think I'd ever get bored with you. But you know, Tetsuya-san, if you keep teasing me like that, you're going to get distracted and poor Byakuya will end up remaining a demon for good."

"I won't let that happen," Tetsuya said determinedly, "The answer is here. I know it is. I just have to find it and we'll figure it out."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" Renji asked, looking around.

Tetsuya smiled.

"Your presence is helping to ward off the troublesome spirits that inhabit these old records and if I recall, Byakuya said it was your tea that got him through many of those long nights working overtime."

"Are you asking me to make tea?" Renji chuckled, "Really? I don't know if I dare leave you here alone with these freaky books. You might not be here when I get back."

"There is an alcove across the room," Tetsuya informed him, "You can see me while you make the tea for us. You may also find some snacks to keep our energy up."

"All right," the redhead said gamely, "but if anything comes jumping outta those things, you give me a yell. I've got your back."

"Thank you, Renji."

Tetsuya turned his attention back to the books in front of him, continuing his tireless search as the redhead crossed the room and located the tea. He set the water boiling and scanned the cupboard and small refrigerator for snacks, which he prepared and set onto a tray. Then, he returned to the tea and let it steep before pouring it into two cups and delivering the tray to the table where Tetsuya sat reading. The blue-eyed noble looked up at him gratefully and paused his efforts, yawning and stretching wearily.

"Maybe you should get some sleep soon," Renji suggested, watching as Tetsuya took one of the cups of tea and sipped at it."

"How is it?" Renji asked.

"Very good," Tetsuya answered politely, "but because of the blandness of the food I was raised on, I am fond of tea with more sugar in it."

He picked up the sugar, but paused short of adding it as Renji tilted his head questioningly.

"What do you mean, the bland food you were raised on? Because, I've been to Kuchiki Manor like a billion times and never saw a meal that didn't look perfectly prepared."

"You are right about that," Tetsuya affirmed, "But the truth is that I was not raised at Kuchiki Manor."

"Oh?" Renji inquired, sipping at his tea.

"I was born of a noble father and a peasant mother in a time when such wasn't just frowned upon. It was treated as a crime. My parents were incarcerated in a secret, illegal noble's prison called Itamigiri. I was born in the prison and lived there until I was a teen and Byakuya learned of the prison and arranged a rescue mission to free us. My parents had died by then, but Byakuya-sama rescued me and took me to Kuchiki Manor, where he and our attendants did their best to civilize me."

"You look pretty civilized to me," Renji said appreciatively, "You look beautiful."

"Thank you, Renji-san," Tetsuya said, blushing, "But even though I know how to dress and act like a noble, I am afraid I much prefer running loose in the meadows, swimming naked and sleeping under the stars. I only practice civility out of necessity."

"I'm kinda like that too," Renji chuckled, "Probably because I grew up in Inuzuri, like a little, wild animal. I just got civilized because I wanted so bad to get out of there and into the shinigami academy."

Tetsuya started to pour a measure of sugar into his tea, then made a sound of surprise as the lid came off and too much sugar filled his cup.

"Oh!"

Renji's eyes widened in surprise as Tetsuya breathed a command and the too sugary tea rose out of the cup and hung suspended in the air in front of them.

"Whoa!"

He watched raptly as the tea and sugar slowly separated in the air in front of the noble, then each went back into its proper container. Tetsuya tightened the lid and poured the proper amount of sugar into his tea.

"That was pretty amazing," Renji observed, "How does that work?"

"It is one of my innate abilities to manipulate water, and since the tea was made with water, it is easy for me to isolate the molecules and separate them."

"Huh, too bad you can't just separate Byakuya from that demon heart that fused with him," the redhead mused, "But even if you did, how do you destroy something like that?"

The redhead paused, staring as Tetsuya's eyes widened, then rounded in realization.

"What is it? Are you okay?" Renji asked urgently.

"I'm fine," Tetsuya assured him, "Renji-san, I think I have the answer! We need to find Orihime, and we need to see the king!"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Did Tetsuya say anything about what he might have found?" Byakuya asked, gazing up at his husband.

"No," Aizen said quietly, "He only said that he found something significant and he needs to see if it will work. That is why I have called them here."

"We are running out of time, Sousuke," Byakuya said worriedly, "If the three days don't come to an end first, at very least, I will deliver, not even a hollow child now, but a demon child! Urahara Kisuke, Shihoin Yoruichi and my cousin have all worked for two days and nights trying to come up with an answer. This must be it. It has to be!"

"It will be," the king said soothingly, "Don't worry, my love."

The two looked up as Renji and Tetsuya entered the king's suite, followed by Orihime.

"What is it, Tetsuya?" Byakuya asked urgently, "Tell me that you have found something!"

"I think I have!" Tetsuya exclaimed.

He gave a small smile and glanced at Renji.

"It was something that Renji-san said that gave me the idea," he explained, "You know that one of my innate abilities allows me to separate molecules, most easily if there is a water content. I could separate your cells from Diablo's, thus undoing the binding that the witch did."

"It is good and well that you could separate the molecules," Aizen said, skeptically, "but because of the enchantment that the witch imposed, they would seek each other again."

"They would," Tetsuya agreed, "_unless_ when they were separated, someone or something could destroy them!"

"But how...?"

Byakuya caught his breath softly and Aizen's brown eyes widened as they looked at Orihime.

"Urahara Kisuke has said that he thinks this method can work, but that we will need to carry out the process somewhere other than here, to do this. If we try to do it here, within the palace, the errant forces are likely to cause massive damage. As it is, the process will also push Byakuya-sama's body to its limits. And if we are not fast enough or careful enough, the child will be born before we can complete the banishiment."

"That sounds very risky," Aizen sighed, contemplating Byakuya's hopeful expression.

"It's even more risky than that, I'm afraid," Kisuke said from the doorway, "You can bet that as soon as the demons get wind of what you're doing, and believe me, they will, they're going to hit this place with everything they have. You saw their numbers. You know what we're facing."

"So, what do you suggest?" Aizen asked icily, "Are you telling me to give my consort and child over without a fight? I will never do that!"

"Sousuke..." Byakuya whispered.

"No! I will not consider that," the king insisted, "There must be a way around that."

"There may be," Kisuke said uncertainly, "If you want to take the risk, you can demand that their leader duel with you for possession of Byakuya's soul. Whoever wins, claims him, but whoever loses, will be dead. And if you lose and die, then the balance will shift here. In the chaos, you can bet that the demons will attack and overrun the palace. The duel is a possibility, but there's a lot of fine print."

"It is better than just giving up," suggested Renji.

"But it is all or nothing," Tetsuya worried, "The demons will surely have a plan of some kind for that."

"They might have prepared for a duel," Kisuke asserted, but they will not have anticipated that we would find a way to undo Byakuya's situation. It will throw things into chaos and there will be a chance that the demon leader will become hasty and make some kind of mistake we can exploit. I don't know if it will save us, but that's all I can give you."

"Time is so short," Tetsuya said solemnly, "We must do something."

"We will," said Aizen, "You said that we must leave the palace for the process to free Byakuya?"

"Yeah," Kisuke confirmed.

"I am thinking that if we use a pocket dimension in the area of the Dangai precipice world, then the palace will be protected from the errant forces."

"Good idea," the shopkeeper said appreciatively, "And when it's sensed by the demons that Byakuya is reverting to transcendent form, they will likely rush to the Dangai, trying to attack. That will be a better battleground than here in the royal realm."

"But it would involve putting the palace at risk by moving our troops there to fight."

"Oh, I think we can protect the palace," Kisuke asserted, "You see, I'm thinking that you can use your illusion ability to alter where they perceive the palace to be. They won't be able to attack here. We'll leave a small force here, but move the bulk of our forces into the Dangai and engage them there."

"But so much errant reiatsu is likely to attract the cleaner," Tetsuya reminded them.

"Yeah, I'll have to set up something to distract it away from where the fighting will be going on."

He glanced up at Aizen.

"You'll need to take Renji, Tetsuya, Grimmjow, Ichigo, Orihime and Byakuya with you to the pocket dimension," he advised the king.

"Shouldn't I be prepared to fight?" Aizen countered, "If the demon demands a duel..."

"He can only demand a duel if he can find you. It will be a race against time. While Tetsuya and Orihime do their work on Byakuya, it will be up to you and the three other guys to hold up a barrier to protect them. Let the hogosha and norite protect the Dangai area. You focus on protecting Byakuya directly."

"It sounds rather desperate," Byakuya sighed, his possessed eyes meeting Aizen's unhappily, "But I don't see any other way. What do you think, Sousuke?"

"I think we will proceed with Urahara Kisuke's plan. The deadline is morning, so we must move quickly into position tonight. By the time the demons arrive to issue their ultimatum, we must have the palace hidden and be in the pocket dimension."

"It'll be a nasty fight, keeping them out of there, once they know," Renji commented.

"You let us worry about that," Kisuke assured him, "Yoruichi and I will have some things in place to deal with them and give our fighters an advantage. You just make sure that Tetsuya and Orihime are not interrupted while they are expelling and rejecting the remnants of Diablo's heart. Everything depends on how fast you can do that."

"Go and get some rest now, while you can," Aizen directed Renji, Tetsuya and Orihime, "You will need to be at full reiatsu output for your mission."

He watched as the three left, then looked back at Kisuke.

"I'm going to go and make plans with Yoruichi. You should stay here and make sure that nothing happens to Byakuya between now and the time we leave. If anything happens to him, then none of our plans are worth anything."

"I understand," Aizen said, placing an arm around his demon mate, "I will make sure that no one and nothing interferes with him tonight."

"I will be back in a few hours to collect you two for the mission. Rest while you can. It's going to be a grueling mission and they may break in and pull you into a fight. You want to avoid that, if you can."

"But sometimes that is not possible," Byakuya acknowledged.

"Right," Kisuke agreed, "Still, we will do our best to protect you."

"The hogosha and norite have always proven themselves to be competent protectors," Aizen observed, "They will do the job."

"You'd better hope so," Kisuke sighed, "If they mess up, we're going to be in some deep shit."

"We are already there," Aizen said sternly, "Using this way, we will find our way out."

"Very well. Goodnight, then," Kisuke said, taking his leave, "I'll be back as soon as everything is in place."

Aizen waited until he was alone with Byakuya, then he smiled and slipped an arm around the possessed consort's shoulders. He led the noble back to their bed and laid down beside him, holding Byakuya against his shoulder and breathing in his lovely sweet scent.

"It is going to be all right," he promised, sliding a hand down to caress the bump under which their offspring grew, "You will be returned to transcendent form soon and you will bear a healthy child, whom we will raise in our home, here at the palace. We have struggled, but those struggles will win us the future we desire."

Byakuya gave him a sad smile.

"When you say those things, I truly feel like they can happen. But Sousuke, so many things can go wrong with what we are doing. There are no guarantees at all!"

"There never are," Aizen sighed softly, "save one...and that one guarantee is that we will fight for our future together."


End file.
